Category: Photography

Eight Ways to Get Rid of GAS – Gear Acquisition Syndrome

All photographers find themselves suffering from Gear Acquisition Syndrome (or GAS, if you don’t mind) at one time or another. Whether you are eager to try something new or just stuck in a creative rut, falling into the trap of thinking that buying a new lens will instantly revamp your photography skills is something we have all been guilty of doing.

You can spend hours daydreaming of the amazing shots you would be taking if only you could afford that lovely lens you have your eye on. But what if you just can’t justify the purchase? If, like most of us, you don’t have inexhaustible funds, here are eight easy tips to keep your GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) at bay.

#1 – Keep your kit lens

One of the first things many photographers do after they’ve learned how to use their DSLR is to upgrade their kit lens. Kit lenses are lightweight, versatile, and can achieve most of the results you desire, despite their limitations. They are incredibly handy to keep around. As you start expanding your lens collection, you may suddenly find that there is a type of photography you want to explore that your current lenses aren’t very good for. Your kit lens can almost certainly help you.

Typically ranging from 17-55mm, kit lenses offer a good wide-angle combined with a short telephoto capability (especially when used on an APS-C sensor camera). This means that they can shoot the gamut from landscape to portraiture easily. When you suddenly find yourself dreaming of that incredibly pricey wide-angle and wishing it was yours, having your kit lens on hand is a way of finding out if you actually want or need a wide-angle lens before you hand over your hard-earned money.

Shot using a kit lens.

#2 – Change your environment, not your gear

The easiest way to shake up the way you shoot with the equipment you already have is to change what you are shooting. Hop in your car and go on a road trip. Visit the sea. Climb a hill and take in the view. Go to a new neighborhood and explore.

Of course, it doesn’t all have to be about travel. If you always shoot landscapes or take some time out to see how your skills translate to portraiture. If you love still life photos, go to your local hardware store and buy a few wooden planks and marble tiles to use as backdrops in your images.

It’s easy to get bored, but shaking up your surroundings and seeking out new subjects is an instant form of inspiration.

A new place opens your eyes.

#3 – Set your alarm clock

It’s a piece of advice given to photographers so often that it is almost a cliché, but there’s no denying that it’s true. Setting your alarm clock to wake up early and take advantage of the golden hour light is the easiest way to improve your photography without spending a penny.

The quality of light found at sunrise – that crisp, misty, lemony light – and sunset – that rich red and gold glow – completely transforms any scene. Buying a different lens isn’t going to change your world unless you have very specific needs for it, but having a limitless spectrum of shifting light to play with certainly will.

Light can make even the most mundane subject seem magical.

#4 – Join an on-going photography challenge

Whether it’s a 365 photo-a-day challenge or a 30-day photo sprint, whether it’s a once-a-week challenge or just something you dip into now and again like a photography tutorial book, starting a challenge can refresh your eye for photography. On-going challenges can also help you to avoid blank spots in your creativity and build up a body of work over time. As well as helping you get rid of any creative blocks, these challenges can introduce you to new techniques and ideas.

Sometimes changing the way you shoot is far easier than changing what you are shooting with. Why not try HDR? How about trying a new post-production technique? Or maybe try creating a photo series where you can only use a symmetrical perspective. These challenges help you try lots of new things without needing to buy any new gear.

New perspectives can shake up your photography.

#5 – Limit yourself

They say that the best camera is the one you have with you. Sometimes we get so fixated on gear we think we need, that we forget that the photographer is the main component in making a great picture. Digital Rev’s Cheap Camera Challenge has proven time and again that great photography starts with the creative eye behind the camera and not the actual camera they are using.

Instead of investing in a new piece of gear, put your gear on the shelf and limit yourself for a while to the camera on your phone. It might sound like madness, but limitation can be the mother of creativity. Working with a more basic tool forces you to focus on the fundamentals of the form – composition, color, texture, symmetry, subject, style, and more. This minimalist approach will hone your eye, and when you finally go back to using your gear, it will be like dipping into a treasure trove of possibilities.

Shot with an iPhone.

#6 – Macro without a macro lens

There are some types of photography you may think are impossible without first investing in specialist equipment. Macro photography is one of those genres. Without a dedicated macro lens, how can you possibly achieve close enough focus? But there are a few ways to try shooting macro before you buy.

Firstly, free lensing is the technique of shooting with your lens unattached to your camera’s lens mount. By holding the lens freely and moving it backward and forward in front of the sensor, you can achieve a dreamy, light-leaked aesthetic. But this freedom of movement also changes the lens’s ability to focus at far closer distances. This is an easy and completely free way to test out shooting macro. The downside, however, is that it’s hard to control the light leaks and almost impossible to shoot steadily.

Shot using a Canon extension tube.

To resolve this you can try extension tubes. These cheap tubes mimic the effect of free lensing, but minimize light leaks and shake. If you have a little more to spend, you can buy AF-equipped versions. These cheap solutions can let you try shooting macro without putting quite the dent in your bank balance that a dedicated macro lens would.

#7 – Collaborate with models

If you find yourself stuck in a creative rut and you’re fixated on a new piece of gear in the hopes of shaking yourself out of it, why not try working with new subjects instead?

Platforms like Model Mayhem or Purple Port can help you to connect and collaborate with models. By finding subjects who also bring their own ideas to the table, you can test out new techniques and styles. Don’t forget that working with models can mean more than just portraiture. Food photographers sometimes need models to be the hands in their images and lifestyle photographers may need someone building the campfire in a landscape scene. Let your imagination run wild.

A model interacting with a scene tells a story.

#8 – Shop for bargains

If all else fails and you succumb to GAS, try and find some cheap alternatives before you splash the cash. By shopping around on platforms like eBay and Etsy, you can stumble across some great vintage lenses for reasonable prices. As long as you have an adapter for your lens mount, these manual lenses offer fantastic optics at less than a quarter of the price of a modern alternative.

You can also find secondhand cameras, lenses, tripods, and lighting gear from reputable sellers like Wex Photographic and the London Camera Exchange (in the UK) or B&H Photo Video and Adorama (in the USA). These sellers test the equipment they sell to ensure it is in working order and sometimes offer warranties, giving you peace of mind and shaving potentially hundreds off your purchase.

Get out and shoot. (Shot with an iPhone.)

Conclusion

There will always be a time when you need a new tripod, lens, flashgun – or whatever it may be – in order to bring your creative vision to life. But I’d argue that nine times out of ten you don’t actually need more gear – you need more ingenuity.

So when you feel like you are succumbing to GAS and are hasty to spend money, just remember that a great photograph starts and ends with a great photographer. You don’t give credit for the exquisite work of a master carpenter to the chisel he chose to use, so you certainly shouldn’t give so much credit to your gear! Instead, focus on your ingenuity in using what you already own.

The post Eight Ways to Get Rid of GAS – Gear Acquisition Syndrome by Laura Hexton appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

March 30, 2017
Visual Flow – How to Get the Most out of Composition

In photography terms, composition can make the difference between a good image and a fantastic one. Yes, you need all the other components; the light has to be dramatic, the subject compelling, and the colours vibrant. All of these will add to the final result. If you have all that, but your composition is not great, the image will fall flat.

Jay Maisel has a quote that goes like this, “As the photographer, you are responsible for every inch of the frame”. This is true, and one of Jay’s other mantras is that he prefers to speak about framing and not cropping. His view is that framing is done at the time of making the image. Cropping is done afterward in post-production. He maintains that cropping changes the original intent of the image. If you frame an image in a particular way and then crop it afterward, it really is a different image.

Frame your scene correctly in camera

I don’t think Jay is saying that you shouldn’t crop, but rather that you need to compose with intent and purpose, not simply hope for the best and try and “fix” the image later by cropping. Good composition can really be impactful on your image. Changing your composition is free. You don’t need any special equipment or lenses. There’s no need to wait for a specific type of light. You can shoot at any time of day. Composition is the one thing in photography that is easiest to fix, yet it is most often overlooked.

There are many articles on DPS and other sites about composition and the best techniques for improving composition, so I won’t try to reinvent the wheel. What I want to talk about here is visual flow. This is more about the visual journey you are taking your viewer on than the destination. In this article, we aren’t going to discuss the rule of thirds and powerpoints, but we will discuss how framing, removing distractions, and how light, shape, and texture will all contribute to your composition.

We will look at how someone’s eye will travel through your image. You want the viewers of our images to look at them longer, to find them interesting and to be captivated and inspired by what they see.

Framing not cropping

As the photographer, you need to take responsibility for everything in the frame. That means, you decide what will be in the shot and sometimes more importantly, what will NOT be in the shot. Your subject needs to be in the frame obviously, but what else absolutely needs to be included? Ask yourself if all the elements in the frame are adding to the narrative or story you are trying to tell. If not, get rid of what is not working.

In this case, less is definitely more (and usually better). Be aware of visual clutter in the frame, objects that are distracting or drawing the viewer’s full attention away from the subject. This is really tough to get right and it takes time and practice. But once you become aware of this and work hard on fixing it, it will become much easier.

Focus on your subject

Remove distractions

This sounds obvious but is not always easy. There are many things that can cause your viewer to be distracted when they look at your image. Any words in your photograph will automatically draw they eye. Signposts, graffiti, street signs…anything with words or letters will cause the viewer to look at that part of the image. If the wording is not the reason for the image, then try and remove that item from the frame as it may be distracting.

Color can cause the eye to wander. If your scene is full of color, that’s great, but if it is largely monochromatic and there is only one color in the frame, that color will become the focal point. Warm colors like yellow or red will very quickly pull the eye across to them, so be aware of the colors in your image.

The human form will also draw the eye. Again, if the person in the frame is a key part of the image, that’s great, leave them in the shot. But if not, then wait until they leave the scene or reframe the scene without them. As humans, we tend to find the human form in an image very quickly and this will become the main focus of the image.

Be aware of distractions, words, powerlines etc

Using light, shape and texture

These three elements (there are more) will greatly help you in your visual flow.

Light is key to making any image. Without light, we cannot do photography. Light also informs so much in your image. You can use side light to emphasize texture in your image. You can use front light to create a silhouette, which will emphasise shape. These three elements are important tools in making sure your image compels people to look at it.

Shapes in your image add a dynamic feel. Get in close and emphasize the shape of an object. If it has a curve, make that curve fill the frame. Shapes can make a great subject too. They are all around you too, you just have to start looking.

Texture is a great way to emphasize your subject. To get great texture images, your light needs to come from the side. Side light enhances texture and each granular detail can be seen if the light is right. Texture will make your images seem three dimensional. Using texture is a great way to communicate more information about your subject.

Use side light to emphasize texture.

Get in close

To make sure that you get the most out of the scene, you can do a few things. First, move in closer and fill the frame with your subject. This is especially useful if you are doing abstract or creative images. If you are not going to fill the frame, then decide where to put your subject. Yes, you can use the rule of thirds for this (this would be my last choice), but you can also use the Fibonacci Spiral (Golden Ratio) or any number of other compositional techniques.

The most important part of an effective composition is to make sure that your viewer knows what they are supposed to look at in your image. If your subject (the reason for the image) is unclear, your image will have little impact. You have likely seen this happen. You show someone photos from your last trip and they simply glance at them in passing. Then suddenly, something catches their attention in a particular image and they stop and look intently at the scene. That’s when you know your image has hit the mark.

As I said earlier, all the elements need to come together to make a great image, but if you have good light, great exposure and bad composition, chances are, people will just flip past the image.

Fill the viewfinder with your subject.

Conclusion

So, how else can you improve your composition? It is deceptively simple but easily overlooked. Some of the things I do is get inspiration from the top photographers in the genre I want to shoot. If it is street photography, then I am looking at Henri Cartier-Bresson, Jay Maisel, Ernst Haas, and others. If it is landscape photography, then I will be looking at Ansel Adams, Charlie Waite, and Koos van der Lende. I look at photographers who inspire me. I also make a point of visiting art galleries whenever I can.

Photography is not even 200 years old as an art form. Much of the techniques we use as photographers have been learned from the painters and artists of old. Spend time looking at the composition of master painters. Look at how they placed subjects in their scene. See how the light works in their paintings, is it hard light or soft light? Spend time taking note of how they used color and shapes in their images. Then, go out and apply that to your photographs. Over time you will begin to see your eye and your images improve.

Work hard at improving your compositional eye.

The post Visual Flow – How to Get the Most out of Composition by Barry J Brady appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

March 30, 2017
Using Juxtaposition for More Compelling Landscape Photography

Juxtaposition – it’s one of my favorite words, and also one of the most important aspects of successful photography. It’s used in portraiture, outdoor adventure, and frequently in travel photography. In images of the landscape, however, juxtaposition is often overlooked.

I say overlooked because many photographers integrate juxtaposed elements in their landscapes without even being aware of them. You see, juxtaposition, or the way different elements conflict and contrast, is a key feature in most good landscape photographs.

Though there are a dozen or more different ways juxtaposition can occur in an image, in this article I’m going to concentrate on three; color, texture, and subject matter.

Juxtaposition – Color

You are probably familiar with the color wheel. Likely you were introduced to the concept in grade school when you learned the difference between primary and secondary colors. More recently, if you have selected a new font color on your word processing program you’ve likely seen some form of the color wheel.

Simply, a color wheel shows the three primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) occupying three slices of the circle with all the mixing iterations of color blending together between them. The result is a continuous blur of colors, encompassing just about everything on the visible spectrum.

Many landscape images will have multiple juxtapositions. In this case, color is foremost with the warm tones on the salt mounds against the deeper blues of the water and sky. But the shape and texture also stand out. (Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia).

Colors that are opposite from one another (complementary) on the wheel like; blue and yellow, red and green, or orange and purple, for example, will juxtapose. That is, they will stand out from one another; some in a pleasing way, some in a conflicting way. Both can work in photography, depending on your goal, but you need to be aware of the way colors communicate in an image to assure your final result is what you intend.

In this aerial image of the Baird Mountains in northwest Alaska, the turquoise tarn in the foreground stands out as the brightest patch of color in the frame, juxtaposed from the muted grays and browns of the mountains.

Reds and blues, for example, are very commonly blended in landscape photography; blue water with sunset sky, red flowers on a bluebird day, autumn colors against a dark backdrop, etc. Color plays an important role in landscape photography, and we recognize pleasing color combinations as soon as we see them. But recognizing WHY they are pleasing, is different from seeing that they are. Look for those relationships in your compositions, and concentrate on their placement. Some colors, red for example, are extremely effective at drawing the eye. But to be most effective, red needs to be counteracted by cooler tones, balancing the image. Mind how the colors are distributed in your image. It matters.

Juxtaposition – Texture

A long exposure softened the water which creates a juxtaposition with the rough stones of the cliff. (Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona.)

In this image, both the color and the rounded texture of the autumn Bearberry in the foreground creates a juxtaposition with the blue sky and the sharp, upright trees in the background.

Juxtaposed textures are abundant in any landscape; spiky bushes against a smooth landscape, water flowing over rough rock, or just a jagged boulder in the middle of an otherwise soft, grassy meadow, etc. Textures, as like color, are easy to observe in the field. Like bright colors, aggressive textures too need to be used in moderation. Like reds and oranges, sharp, rough, textures will dominate an image if used too liberally.

The antlers of this caribou skull and the bright white against the dark tundra make the subject leap out from the image.

Overwhelming textures, just like overwhelming colors, might be exactly what you want. Just be aware of that decision when you make the image. Make the harsh textures the point of your image, because the wrong balance, or aggressive textures placed too dominantly by accident, can ruin the balance of an image. Consider how they relate, the story you want to tell with their use, and place them in the frame accordingly.

This is a tough one to put to use because there are no clear rules about texture. You may not always realize when you’ve gotten this balance right, but you’ll definitely know when it’s wrong.

In this image of Denali, in Denali National Park, Alaska, the two rounded forms, one green and spiky, one blue-white and more smooth echo one another, while providing wildly different textures, colors, and implications for the image.

Juxtaposition – Subject

Bright flowers on a gray day on a barren dune. Few things can create more juxtaposition in this image.

Without context, this image would not have an obvious juxtaposition, it’s just an image of a lightning strike. But, when I tell you this photo was made on the arctic coastal plain of northern Alaska where thunderstorms are as rare as unicorns, then the juxtaposition of location and lightning are more clear.

The first two examples, color and texture, are more nebulous and tougher to apply in the field than the subject of the image. In landscapes, juxtapositions within the subject matter are easier to apply, and will almost always add interest to your images.

A rare rain storm in the Altiplano of Bolivia catches the last rays of sunlight. Both color and subject juxtapose here.

As I sat down to write this article, the first thing that came to mind was the weather. Storm light, that rare sunlight that appears despite the dark clouds, is a perfect example of subject juxtaposition. Few things contrast as much as a stormy day, and sunlight.

Rainbow in the dry desert, another clear example of the way juxtaposed subject matter can add interest to an image.

Tying weather to elements of the landscape is another way to create juxtapositions. A few years ago, I was hiking in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park, Texas when I was treated to a rare thunderstorm. As the very brief storm cleared the mountains, a rainbow appeared. The desert landscape, topped by a rainbow against a blue sky, leads to an undeniable juxtaposition.

Similarly, last summer I was leading a wilderness photo tour in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska. On the summer solstice, it snowed four inches overnight, and the following morning the blooming flowers were covered in snow. Summer flowers and fresh snow juxtapose nicely.

Summer flowers the day after a snow storm.

Summary

Juxtaposition, the way elements compare and contrast each other, is as important in landscape photography as it is in any other discipline of the art, even if it is more difficult to use. Pay attention to the way color, texture, and your subject interrelate within your image and you’ll find greater success with your landscapes.

Have you explored juxtapositions in your landscape photographs? Tell me about it in the comments, and share some of your successes.

The post Using Juxtaposition for More Compelling Landscape Photography by David Shaw appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

March 30, 2017
How To Use Lightroom To Save An Underexposed Photo

Sometimes you come home with what you thought was a great shot, just to find out that it is way underexposed and without any better exposures of that composition. But, how can you save the underexposed photo in Lightroom? Of course, first of all, it would be better to get the exposure right on location, lesson learned, right. But if Continue Reading

The post How To Use Lightroom To Save An Underexposed Photo appeared first on Photodoto.

Photodoto

March 30, 2017
Movavi Photo Editor 4

Let’s take a closer look at the new Movavi Photo Editor. The completely redesigned interface is the first thing that catches your eye when you launch the program. Now you’ve got all the tool tabs at the top, and their settings on the right. Quick access to all functions, including “Undo”, “Redo”, “Revert Changes”, and “View Original” buttons in Continue Reading

The post Movavi Photo Editor 4 appeared first on Photodoto.

Photodoto

March 28, 2017
5 Reasons to Use Lightroom for Portrait Retouching

There are some photographers who use Photoshop or plugins such as Portrait Pro to do portrait retouching. There is nothing wrong with this and these programs can do an excellent job, especially if you retouch portraits at a high level.

But you may be surprised at just what an excellent job Lightroom also does at developing portraits. There are compelling reasons to do all of your portrait retouching within Lightroom. Here are some of them:

1. You can use Lightroom Presets to create different looks

Whether you buy presets made by other photographers, download freebies from the internet, or make your own, presets can open up new worlds. There are presets that emulate film (such as those from VSCO and Mastin Labs), presets for black and white photography and ones that create just about every type of look you can imagine.

It’s possible to buy or put together an entire preset system – a set of presets that is designed to make developing portraits much faster and simpler than going through the right-hand panels in the Develop module individually.

The same portrait, processed with three different Lightroom Develop Presets to create three different looks.

2. You can easily bulk process portraits in Lightroom

Another benefit of using Develop Presets in Lightroom is that they make it easy to bulk process your portraits. In any portrait session, it is natural to take lots of photos, possibly hundreds, as you explore a variety of poses, clothing, and settings. If you want to spend as little time on a computer as possible processing those photos, then Develop Presets are the key.

I’m particularly impressed by the SLR Lounge Lightroom Preset System which I’ve seen in action on a Creative Live class. Designed for high volume wedding and portrait photographers it really does make bulk processing easy. It is not difficult for advanced Lightroom users to come up with a similar system themselves.

Sets of similar portraits that share the same lighting and background are the easiest to bulk process. All you have to do is develop the first image, then copy and paste the settings to the rest. Leave local adjustments like retouching until last as those need to be applied to portraits individually.

3. You don’t need to leave Lightroom to smooth skin

The main selling point of portrait plugins is that you can use them to make anybody’s skin look beautiful. The danger of these plugins, if overused, is that they remove skin texture and make it look over-processed and plastic.

But what you might not know is that the Adjustment Brush in Lightroom is an excellent tool for portrait retouching. The Soften Skin preset helps you smooth skin while retaining texture when used with the Adjustment Brush tool.

You can reduce the opacity of the brush after you have applied the effect, giving you full control over the strength. Combined with the healing brush tool, which is perfect for eliminating blemishes, you can retouch nearly any portrait.

This before and after view shows how Lightroom’s Soften Skin preset smooths out skin while still retaining texture.

4. Saves hard drive space

I always recommend that you do as much work in Lightroom as possible, and only export photos to Photoshop or a plugin when absolutely necessary. The main reasons are hard drive space and workflow.

Every time you export a photo, Lightroom has to convert it from Raw to a file format the program understands. For maximum quality, you should use 16-bit TIFF – a file that is much bigger than Raw. 16-bit TIFF files are very large and rapidly fill your hard drives.

Retouching Raw files in Lightroom is much more space efficient. The workflow is also much smoother when you keep everything within Lightroom.

5. Lightroom helps you create a natural look

One of the biggest dangers associated with using Photoshop or plugins is that you can go too far and over-retouch your portraits. It’s common in movie posters, which make the actors almost unrecognizable, and expensive advertisements. The search for perfection results in a lie and realism goes out of the window.

We’ve all seen those epic Photoshop fails, where the retoucher takes a few inches off a waist or thigh, enlarges the model’s eyes or changes the shape of her face. This takes great skill and restraint to do realistically. Most people fail. A model once told me about another photographer who enlarged her eyes and altered the shape of her face in Photoshop. She didn’t like the results at all and felt they were no longer photos of her.

Lightroom is well suited for processing portraits with a natural look.

The benefit of Lightroom here is that it doesn’t have the same capability of Photoshop so there is no temptation to use it to distort the shape of the model’s face. Lightroom helps you keep it real and go for the natural look.

What happens when you can’t rely on Photoshop to slim somebody’s face or figure? You have to learn how to do it through lighting and posing. Using Lightroom indirectly helps you become a better portrait photographer.

Conclusion

Photoshop and portrait retouching plugins are powerful tools but Lightroom is just as good, maybe even better as it stops you from over-processing portraits. But what do you think? Do you have a favorite retouching application for your portraits or do you prefer to use Lightroom? Let us know in the comments.

If you’d like to learn more about Lightroom, then please check out my popular Mastering Lightroom ebooks.

The post 5 Reasons to Use Lightroom for Portrait Retouching by Andrew S. Gibson appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

March 24, 2017
DIY Hack 2-for-1 Luggage and Camera Roller Bag

Can we really have enough camera bags? In this article, I will show you a DIY hack to easily convert a small travel bag with wheels into a camera roller bag. Basically, you get two bags for the price of one.

A piece of luggage with wheels on the left and with a padded camera insert on the right – and voila it’s now a camera roller bag!

The one main drawback to being a photographer is the amount of gear you have and what type of bag to store your equipment in. This is especially true whether you are a professional, semi-professional or hobbyist photographer. There is no getting around it, once you invest in any type of camera with interchangeable lens, the add-on extras are similar to lego…you just keep building!

And herein comes the next must-have for any photographer, the camera bag.

A very inexpensive luggage bag on wheels H54.5 X W34 X D20cm

So much choice

Courtesy of Peak Design – Everyday Backpack.

With such a plethora of camera bags on the market, it can become a bit of a quandary to know which bag to choose. For me, the one that proves the most comfortable in hauling around gets my vote. Although that said, I do love to see what company is launching the next must-have-camera-bag.

Peak Design’s marketing campaign video for their Everyday Backpack was just brilliant. I had to physically sit on my hands to stop myself pressing the buy button. Oh, I was so tempted!

Assess your needs

My main focus when going to a location shoot is to try and limit the amount of gear I bring. At the same time, I can’t afford the risk of not having that one extra bit of kit that may be crucial to a shot. As I do a lot of location shooting, there have been many occasions where I had to improvise and change the direction of the shoot. This was only possible as I had the extra camera gear with me in my bag. It is about good planning and being professional.

I also find it’s the non-camera gear that is really useful to have with you on a shoot. Even an elastic band comes in handy.

Look at options in non-camera stores

I was at my local shopping center recently and browsing at travel luggage bags. I was on the lookout for one of those carry-on size bags with wheels. Whoever thought of putting wheels on a travel case is a genius.

This bag from itLuggage proved a great solution for my dual combo – a travel bag that converts into a roller camera bag!

My thinking was two-fold. I needed a small travel bag for trips away, plus I could use the same bag as a camera roller bag. I have always loved the idea of dual functionality with one product, especially when it’s not marketed as such. Plus, storage space in a house can be a premium, so the idea of doubling up on my bags to save space seemed an obvious solution.

The average camera roller case is expensive. One can range from €250 – €500 ($ 265USD – $ 530USD) here in Ireland (Europe). If you are a hobbyist photographer, this price tag may seem pretty high and way above your budget range.

DIY camera roller bag

The simple idea of turning a travel bag into a DIY camera roller bag is just brilliant. What I really liked most about this hack is there is no DIY or customization to be done to the actual bag and it looks great.

An in-expensive travel bag from itLuggage.

I first saw the concept of turning a luggage bag into a DIY camera roller bag on Fstoppers a few years back. So, I’m in no way claiming this as my idea. However, it is so simple and easy that it is worth sharing the idea again in case you missed it.

This bag which caught my eye was ridiculously cheap at €39, approximately $ 41 USD. It is extremely lightweight and the size was perfect. H54.5 x W34 x D20cm (21.4 x 13.8 x 7.8”). Plus, this size of the bag meets the strict dimension requirements of European budget airlines.

Customize or DIY the bag

I was able to source this padded camera divider with an egg crate foam from B&W International. Even with the Sterling conversion to euros plus shipping. It cost me €50 ($ 53 USD) and in my opinion, was well worth it.

The dimensions of this padded camera divider were perfect for my travel bag: H43 x W30 D12.5cm (with the egg foam 15cm). (16.9” x 11.8” x 4.9”). Do a search on Amazon for padded dividers by B&W or Pelican to find more size options to fit your bag snugly.

Inexpensive travel bag with wheels with a padded camera insert and egg crate foam from B&W International. DIY camera roller bag.

I was impressed with the overall quality and robustness of the material. The dividers are all easily removable and can be configured to your own setup.

Padded camera divider insert with modifiable velcro attachments, typical of most camera bags.

Quality padded camera insert from B&W International.

The whole camera bag insert fits snugly into the travel bag with ease.

Try it out

I brought my new roller camera bag to a local event recently and it worked a dream. More importantly, my shoulders were not screaming at me the next day, as those little wheels did all the work.

Camera gear packed into the padded camera insert with lots more room to spare.

Now, I can’t wait to go away on a trip and use my new travel bag with wheels. I’ll keep you posted!

Have you already done this DIY camera bag hack? Would you consider doing it? If so, please leave your comments in the section below.

The post DIY Hack 2-for-1 Luggage and Camera Roller Bag by Sarah Hipwell appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

March 23, 2017
5 Tips for Photographing Water

Water is a beautiful subject to photograph. It can be as dramatic as a waterfall, predictable as a fountain, vast like the ocean, or just a winding exciting river. Whatever the source, it can be a point of interest in your image or an element of your composition. If you are enchanted with photography water, here are a few tips you can use to improve your final image.

1. Capture Motion

Firstly, think about what you want to convey and how to add that characteristic to the shot. This may be as simple as choosing the right shutter speed. A fast shutter speed freezes motion and works well for crashing waves to show the activity of an ocean. Sometimes when using faster shutter speeds, your camera may indicate that you are getting insufficient light – this is where adjusting your ISO can come in handy. When using shutter speeds of 1/500th and above, timing is key for spectacular shots.

On the opposite side of fast shutter captures are long exposures. If you want to show greater motion or get that silken effect, slowing down your shutter speed gives you that cool effect. A few key things; aim for an exposure between 0.5 and 10 seconds which means that your camera needs to be absolutely still (a tripod is a definite, you can also use a shutter release cable/remote if possible). Dusk and dawn are great times for long exposures but there is no need to limit yourself to these times of day if you have a neutral density filter (discussed lower down in this post).

Bonus Tip: Getting closer to the water makes the blurring effect of moving water more noticeable.

2. Mirror Mirror

Water is a natural mirror. Seek out reflections and classify them. Is the reflection enhancing your image or distracting from it? In the latter case, move around a bit to eliminate reflections where possible or return to your location when the sun is at a different angle. A polarizing filter can help eliminate some of the reflections and give you nice contrast (rotate the filter and check out what’s possible).

Reflections can also add to an image and are used a lot where water is calm and still. That being said, ripples can also be interesting as they add texture and effect. There are also abstract reflections that look great in moving water such as the lights of a cityscape.

With reflections you can go for a symmetrical composition or not, depending on what you want to portray. You can even just shoot the water reflection and not the subject itself; the possibilities are endless.

3. Filter it

Using a polarizer was mentioned above, but it is worth a second thought as it is quite a useful tool to have in the field when photographing water. In addition to removing reflections (when they’re not wanted), a polarizer is very helpful in cutting out glare. By eliminating glare, it helps bring out any color details of the water and what lies below the surface.

Neutral Density (ND) filters are quite useful for creating long exposures during the day as they give you better control over your exposure. They do this by stopping/restricting light from reaching your camera sensor, thus allowing you to leave your camera with a higher aperture for a longer amount of time.

Note: ND filters do not affect the color in your photo in anyway, while the same cannot be said for a polarizer filter.

4. Underexpose when photographing water

Perfect exposure in-camera is your ideal goal. When water is your subject though, too many highlights can make it look white and it is difficult to recover the details in large areas that are blown out or clipped. If water is the dominant subject in your frame, it will benefit you to underexpose by 1/3 to 1/2 a stop.

Bonus Tip: Shooting waterfalls in overcast conditions is something many landscape photographers would recommend. There is no direct sunlight on the water itself.

5. Get your feet wet

If you can get into the water safely with your tripod, it’s a perspective worth trying. Use extra caution when setting up on slippery rocks and be aware of your surroundings. Make sure your equipment is insured, and you’re all set to try something different.

If this is not an option for you, grab a zoom lens for some close up details. It is worth the time to experiment with unusual angles.

Conclusion

Water is indeed a fascinating subject and with so many ways to capture it, why not give it a try? Are you drawn to the dreamy motion of long exposures, or do you find yourself caught up in a reflection? What other fun tip would you share to help improve other’s water photography?

The post 5 Tips for Photographing Water by Nisha Ramroop appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

March 23, 2017
How to Create Artistic Photos with a Magnifying Glass
A magnifying glass is a handy little tool, popular with intrepid detectives and bug collectors. As the name suggests, the convex lens produces a magnified image of an object, but it can also be used to make some unusual and eye-catching imagery. Pairing a photographic lens with a magnifying glass will probably not create a flawless alternative to a macro lens, but the unique properties of a handheld convex lens mean that there are endless combinations of optical effects to exploit.

What you will need:
- DSLR camera
- Magnifying glass
- Subject to photograph
- Cleaning cloth
- Tripod
Getting Started

The first thing to remember when using this technique is that the glass in your average, run-of-the-mill magnifying glass will be of far lesser quality than that of the glass inside your camera. The nature of the cheaper quality glass lends a softening effect to an image so sharpening in post-production (using software like Photoshop or Camera Raw) will help to add a bit more definition to the photographs. But don’t worry if you aren’t getting pin-sharp precision, the softness can actually add to the image overall.

Using a tripod to photograph subjects through the lens of a magnifying glass is a good idea too. Without a tripod, camera shake will add another layer of difficulty to a process that can be slightly tricky at times. For the purpose of this tutorial, I’ve chosen flowers as my subject. They make good subjects for this technique because they are colorful, interesting and they don’t move around. Getting the hang of this technique on a static subject will save you a bit of frustration when moving onto more animate subject matter later

This leaf was photographed against a window with the afternoon sun pouring through from behind. The light illuminated the veins in the leaf and the magnifying glass helped capture the detail in its intricate fibers.

Magnification depends upon a magnifying glass’s distance relative to the subject or camera, so there are endless angles and distances to experiment with to create imagery with soft light and diffused bokeh-like effects.

Method

First, clean the glass of the magnifying glass with a tissue or cleaning cloth to avoid dust spots. Maneuver your camera up close to the subject. If you are using a zoom lens, zoom in as far as possible. Your autofocus will most likely get confused by the additional glass between the lens and the subject, so set your lens to manual focus instead.

Hold the magnifying glass over the front of the lens with your hand. Notice that it will either make the subject appear bigger or just extremely out of focus. With one hand you will need to either adjust the camera focus manually or move the magnifying glass forward and backward between the camera and subject. Trying to find a sweet spot where part or all of the image looks focused can be tricky – but be open to how the magnifying glass alters the photograph. The results can often surprise you.

Keep in mind that the extra layer of glass will cut down the amount of light that reaches the camera sensor so you may have to adjust the exposure compensation, depending on the available light of your setup. Don’t forget to experiment with depth of field by adjusting the aperture as well. Taking control of the aperture will guide the viewer’s eye around the photograph. That can be crucial in more abstract images like these floral landscapes.

Experiment!

The best bit about this technique is that it rewards experimentation. Once you have a feel for photographing your subject through a magnifying glass, why not use two taped together for greater magnification? Or take a chance at photographing a friend or pet? Or why not try including the loop of the magnifying glass to create a framing effect? With even the slightest adjustment in angle or distance a magnifying glass can render some unique results. Take the time to experiment and have fun.

Experiment with black and white images to highlight shape and form.

Tape two magnifying glasses together for greater magnification.

Create unusual framing effects by incorporating the loop of the magnifying glass in your photograph.

After you get the hang of photographing still objects, why not move onto something more animated.

The post How to Create Artistic Photos with a Magnifying Glass by Megan Kennedy appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
March 23, 2017
Studio Starter Kit: How to Design a Starter Portable Studio
In this article, I will give you some tips for creating your own studio starter kit. A portable studio that doesn’t break the bank or the budget.

For many new photographers, the idea of using strobes and portable flashes may seem too daunting. Once you get over that fear, however, you will realize that it is not as difficult as you once thought, nor it is completely unaffordable. I’m sure many of us see famous professional photographers use top brand names such as Profoto, Broncolor, Westcott, Pocket Wizard, Elinchrom, Bowens, Manfrotto, and Lastolite, just to mention a few. We look at the price tag and quake in our boots. That kind of gear is worth its weight in gold for sure and would last many many years, even with daily use, as long as they are used appropriately and with care.

But fear not! These are not the only brands that work and if you are after a starter kit, there are plenty of other more affordable options out there that do the job just fine.

So, I will share with you some alternatives to top brands for a studio starter kit especially if you just what to try it out. Of course you can go the full nine yards and shell out for the best brands, or alternatively you could rent a few items first to test them out.

#1 Know your subject and understand your audience

First of all, assess what you need your portable studio for. What will you be shooting; headshots, photobooths, full body shots? Knowing your usage requirements will dictate the height your light stands, the power of your strobes or capabilities of your speedlights, for example.

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Secondly, how often will you need to use your portable kit as you need to take into consideration the wear and tear on your equipment. This has more to do with the quality of the materials used in manufacturing. You don’t want your umbrellas and softboxes to rip from frequent use, for example, or the screws of your stands to come off so quickly.

Thirdly, what backdrop will you be using? Your stands need to be sturdy enough for the weight of your backdrop.

#2 Do your research and read reviews

When you have a clear idea of your needs, allowing room for improvement and progression into other subjects, get on the internet and read reviews of various brands and compare them. It is a good idea to stick to a budget and if you can manage it, not to get into debt when acquiring equipment, although I know that sometimes that is not an option.

For the most basic studio starter kit, all you need is a light and one stand. That’s it. Of course, you do need a subject and a camera with a memory card. But, you don’t even need a remote trigger if you can use the built-in creative lighting system of your camera and flash. This works using infrared so that your camera and off-camera flash can communicate with each other for as long as both are within line of sight. For a better starter kit, though, I suggest you add a light modifier and a transceiver.

Portable studio wish list

This would be my list for a good portable starter studio:
- Backdrop stands x 1 set (a set will have two stands and a bar from which to hang the backdrop)
- Clamps for your backdrop x 12 or depending on length of bar and number of clamps needed
- Sandbags (one for each your stands)
- Transceivers (or remote trigger and receiver system)
- Light stands (preferably air-cushioned, as many as your lights)
- Reflectors (preferably foldable and at least a 5-in-1)
- Speedlight x 1 minimum (either the same brand as your camera or a third party compatible brand) or …
- Strobe x 1 minimum (preferably with a battery pack so you won’t have to worry about power sockets on location)
Left image: background stand (Photosel) and clamps (Neewer)
Right image: Manfrotto Monopod with ballhead, Gorillapod, stands by: Neewer, Pixapro, and Photosel. I can’t remember the brand of my tripod (far left).

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- Adaptors for speedlight to stands x 1 minimum (you need this so that your speedlight can be connected to your light stand)
- Light modifiers which can be any of the following; an umbrella (silver, white, black on the outside, silver on the inside, all white diffusion), octabox umbrellas (with or without grid), foldable softbox (with a speedlight mount)
- Tripod or monopod (preferable but not essential)
- Light meter (preferable but not essential)
- Plenty of Gaffer tape
- Spare batteries for your camera, speedlight, and/or strobe (whichever you are using)
Left image: A studio strobe by Pixapro, transceivers (Yongnuo on the left, Paul Buff Cybersyncs on the right), Nikon SB 910 Speedlight, and a Sekonic L-358 lightmeter on the far right.
Right image: Ring Flash by Neewer, video lights are Yongnuo, and the magic tube is by Travor.

Third party options

Alternative cheaper brands that offer an astonishing array of photographic accessories at a fraction of top brand name prices.
- Pixapro (UK)
- StrobePro (Canada)
- Neewer
- Fotodiox
- Photoflex
- Yongnuo
- Paul C Buff – (Alien Bees and White Lightning)
- Rogue Photographic Design
- Godox
- Walimex
These are only some of the many alternatives easily accessible nowadays through the internet. The photos shown within this article have been taken with my portable studio starter kit made up the Pixapro, Yongnuo, Neewer, Paul C Buff, Rogue Photographic Design, Sekonic, Nikon, and Manfrotto. Sometimes I use just one light, other times two, and sometimes I include a reflector as well.

Left image: The flash softbox is Westcott. The flat rectangular modifiers are Rogue flash benders and the mini-versions on the left (one is rolled up into a black tube which I use as a snoot) are from Kaavie, again from Amazon. 5-in-1 reflector showing in gold is Neewer.
Right image: The collapsable gray card is by Lastolite, next to it are light stand adaptors as well as spare batteries.

Continuous lighting

In addition to strobes, you might also want to include some continuous lighting in your arsenal. There are many types of continuous lights, the most popular of which are video lights, ring and tube lights. The usually come with filters too, which is handy. The great thing about continuous lights is not only their portability but the price tag – they are super affordable nowadays with various brands competing in an already saturated market. Personally, I only use these occasionally and cannot justify spending much on them.

Backdrop

For backdrops, you can use paper or fabric. A good tip is to use fabric that doesn’t crease and doesn’t need ironing. There is nothing worse than having to Photoshop all the creases from a backdrop. Trust me, I have done it before!

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#3 Use your new studio

Having a studio in a box that never sees the light of day is a waste of your precious time doing all the above, not to mention money. Use your new kit and try out what works for you and what doesn’t. You will learn new things by experimenting and actually using your gear, rather than just reading what other people say. You will learn how to troubleshoot, and how to pack and unpack in the quickest time. If you don’t have a live subject to photograph, then take pictures of still life subjects to practice and find things out.

While there is no doubt that there are differences in the quality of the material used between brands, I believe that the difference in the quality of light is debatable and I’m pretty sure these differences are not life-changing. Ultimately, it’s not about the gear but how you use what you have.

When it comes to light, the important thing to remember, more than the brand name, is that the bigger the light the better the quality, the closer the light to the subject the softer it is. When it comes to a portable studio kit, make portability a priority so that everything is easily collapsible. Don’t forget to consider the weight of your portable studio too as well as how much room it will take when transported. Many of the materials nowadays are made of lightweight durable metal, alloys or steels. You want a portable starter studio that really folds into a pocket!

Do share here any tips for starter portable studios especially if there is anything I haven’t included on the list above.

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The post Studio Starter Kit: How to Design a Starter Portable Studio by Lily Sawyer appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
March 22, 2017