Category: Photography

6 Tips on How to Make More Time for Photography

YOU have time for photography!

How does that statement make you feel? Does it ring true to you? If you are thinking, “That might be true for others, but not for me and my busy life.”, this article may change your mind.

We would all love to have the luxury of doing whatever we want, whenever we want to do it, but that’s not how life works for most of us. We have jobs, family, kids, homes, yards, church responsibilities, community obligations, the list goes on and on. If you really want to use your camera more, learn more about photography, and practice your skills on a regular basis, maybe the following tips will help.

1 – Schedule it in

Sometimes we know we want to photograph something, and we figure that sometime during the day we’ll grab our camera and it will happen. If we’re being realistic, we know that the chances of that happening are pretty slim.

If you really want to get more photography into your life, you have to make it a priority. We know that priorities get scheduled in first. You’ve probably seen the object lesson where you fill a jar with sand and then try to pack the rocks into it. Of course the rocks don’t fit; the jar has already been filled with little pieces of sand. If you put the rocks in the jar first, and then shake the sand in around the rocks, you can fit both of them in there. Priorities are your rocks. They have to fill your jar of time first, and then the other little things that don’t matter as much will find a way to fit in where they can.

Write your photography plan for the day down on your calendar. In pen. Then treat it like any other important appointment. If it’s not written down, it’s much easier to push it aside for other things that happen to come up. Also, remember that it doesn’t have to be a long session every time. Sometimes five minutes is enough to capture something fun.

2 – Let go of perfection

You may have it in your mind that you need to photograph an elaborately staged fairy tale story, or that you must photograph a mountain scene at precisely 6:30pm on a foggy day, or that your little girl has to have perfectly curled hair and perfectly matched clothes, without a speck of dirt.

If you are always waiting for the perfect conditions to happen, chances are you won’t get much photography done. Sometimes those perfect conditions happen, and it’s magical, but sometimes magical photos happen when you least expect them.

You may have to drag your night-owl self out of bed at sunrise to fit photography time into your day. You may have to snap a photo of your daughter with messy hair and mud pies on her face, because that’s when the opportunity presents itself. You may have to bring your camera to work, and find a moment in midday bright sun to explore your surroundings with your lens.

Don’t get too hung up on everything being just right. Sometimes you actually learn more when you have to deal with less-than-ideal circumstances, then you are even more appreciative of the times when everything falls into place perfectly.

3 – Keep your camera with you

We’ve talked about scheduling quality time with your camera into your day, but sometimes you may find yourself with a pocket of time you aren’t expecting. If you have your camera close by, you can take advantage of that time.

As much as possible, have your camera with you. If the weather is mild, keep it in your car. Take it to work with you. Bring it along to family functions, or parties. You don’t have to be that person who always has a camera up to your face, but have it available, just in case. There have been too many times where I’ve been in a situation where I wished I had my camera with me, and everyone around me wished I did too. But sadly, I had forgotten to bring it, or hadn’t thought I would need it. Unless you are worried about the temperatures you will have to leave it in, or about it being stolen, just bring it.

You may want to consider your smartphone, or a small pocket camera, as legitimate options also. You can get pretty great photos, even without your DSLR, so use whatever camera you have with you to create art, and capture beautiful things around you.

4 – Combine photography with other activities

Going camping in the mountains? Make it a double-duty activity of camping and nature photography. Play date at the park with friends and kids? Bring your camera along for a fun session with lots of cute faces to photograph. Business trip for work? Your camera can be your travel companion, and help you explore a new city.

Find opportunities to work photography into the things that you are already doing. You don’t have to drop everything you’ve planned to find time to take a few photos. Look at the week ahead of you, and see how many already-planned activities you can fit photography into. It might surprise you how many activities will open up exciting photography opportunities, without adding any extra time to your already busy day.

5 – Find your motivation

We all are motivated by different things. Some of us are very goal-oriented, and some are not. Some of us thrive on challenges, and some of us get motivated by something fresh and new. Find what motivates you, and apply it to your photography.

If you like challenges, you could try a 365 Photo a Day Challenge, or make a list of objects to find and photograph, and see how fast you can check them all off. When I was new to photography, I was part of an online group called Mission 24. Each week we would take turns choosing a subject to photograph, and everyone in the group had 24 hours to interpret the subject in their own way, photograph it, and post it to the blog. Then we’d vote on which image was the winner each week. It was all in fun, and really helped us to get our cameras out, and encourage one another.

If big goals are your thing, maybe you’d like to set a goal of starting a portrait business, or selling prints of your landscapes or wildlife photography. It will take lots of time and effort to build a business, but that goal may be just what you need to make you really prioritize your photography time.

You might even find that purchasing something like a brand new awesome photography bag, or the new lens you’ve been dying to get, will motivate you to get your camera out more often.

6 – Give it a rest

This may sound like the exactly wrong advice for this article, but sometimes you need to put your camera aside, and not worry about photographing anything for a while.

If you feel like trying to fit photography into your day is stressing you out, and you’re not finding joy in it, then it may be time to take a little break. Forcing yourself will only make things worse. Put your camera in your bag, zip it up, and put it away. Don’t get it out until you WANT to.

You will most likely find that after a short break, you can’t wait to get your hands on your camera again, and it’s back to being a joyful, fun activity. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

What are your best tips for fitting photography into a busy schedule? I’d love to hear them, please share in the comments below.

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The post 6 Tips on How to Make More Time for Photography by Melinda Smith appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

November 4, 2015
Understanding Natural Light Part 2: Color of Light
Light has different Properties, and by understanding those differences and using them in your favor, you can become a better image maker.

Golden light of late day, mixed with cool light in the shadows.

Chapter Two: Understanding color in natural light

In this chapter, we will:
- Explore how color can affect the viewer’s emotional response.
- Understand how the color of natural light changes throughout the day.
- Learn how to mix light colors to create depth.
- Practice using exercises.
Please note that as a portrait photographer, I will be discussing portraits and using them as examples. However, this knowledge applies to any type of photography.

Color as a visual storytelling element

What we perceive as color is actually our brain’s interpretation of light reflected off objects and transmitted to the brain via our optic nerves. Under the field of color psychology, a range of studies have shown that colors can deeply affect how we experience the world around us, from the taste of the food we eat, to how we respond to new brand packaging on supermarket shelves. Colors affect how we feel, and this is precisely why understanding color is so important to you as a photographer.

There are many ways you can control or change the colors in your images, such as by editing, with the use of filters, or adjusting the White Balance. But as we are here to discuss natural light, so let us delve deeper into understanding how to create an emotional response by using the right color of natural light.

Because color is an amorphous concept (we all see colors slightly differently), there is a standard way to define color tone; this is called color temperature. We will not discuss the technical definition of color temperature for two reasons: first, it will make you very sleepy and second, it will not make your photos better. The important thing to know about color temperature is that it is a standard that is measured in degrees of Kelvin (now you understand what the “K” symbol means in your White Balance menu). Color temperatures below 4000K are considered warm (red and yellow) and color temperatures above 4000K are considered cool (blue).

Plan your shooting time

In the previous article, Understanding Natural Light Part 1: Quality of Light, you learned to forget the concept of good or bad lighting, and think in terms of suitable or less suitable. It is your responsibility to shoot under the most suitable light for the visual story you wish to create, and this concept applies to the color of light as well. Now, let’s get familiar with how the color of the light changes throughout the day.

Blue Light (about 11000K)
- When: Before sunrise and after sunset.
- Common emotional effect: Glum and mysterious, with a sense of coldness.
- Take it to the next level: If you are in an urban environment, try mixing the natural blue light with the artificial orange light from street lamps to create an amazing color combination and depth (which will be later explained).
- Please note: Due to the low level of light during this time of day, pay close attention to your shutter speed to avoid blurry images.
Golden Light (about 3500K)
- When: It depends on your location on earth, but golden light is usually around sunrise and sunset.
- Common emotional effect: Praised by photographers as the golden or magic hours, with soft, pastel-like warm colors of red and yellow. Portraits and landscape images will seem almost magical.
- Take it to the next level: By standing higher than your subject, shooting from an angle of 45 degrees, you can achive a wonderful catch light (a spark of light in the eyes of the subject) due to the reflection of the sky in the subject’s eyes. (see image below)
- Please note: As with any type of magic, you need to be swift and efficient. Plan your daily schedule carefully. For example, if you want to shoot during the golden light of sunrise, you must get up early. Very early.
Midday Light (between 5000-6500K)
- When: It depends on your location on earth, but usually from one hour after sunrise until one hour before sunset.
- Common emotional effect: This light seems neutral in color to the eye, even though it’s considered a cold color in terms of Kelvin degrees. The contrasts caused by midday light will amplify objects’ colors. So, vibrant objects will seem even more vibrant and vice versa.
- Please note: You can enjoy the amplifying benefits of midday light without the harshness if you place your subject indoors near a window.
Cloudy Day (about 7000K)
- When: When the sky is heavily overcast.
- Common emotional effect: Similar to that of blue light with a glum, winter-like feeling, but stronger and brighter, allowing you to work with faster shutter speeds.
- Please note: The biggest benefit of working on a cloudy day is the continuity of color tone throughout the day. This means there’s less pressure on you to work as fast as possible, as you would need to do at other times of the day, like the golden hours.
Mixing colors

You can achieve very satisfying results by mixing cold with warm color tones. For example, by placing warmer colors in the foreground and colder colors in the background, you can add volume and depth to make an interesting image.

You can do this by either working during the border of two periods of the day, or by mixing natural and artificial light.

Working during the border of two time frames

For example, if you choose to shoot at dusk, which I heard National Geographic photographer William Albert Allard refer to as the “The time between dogs and wolves”, you can combine the warm colors of the golden light, with the cold colors of the blue light. Here is an examples:

Mixing natural and artificial light

If you choose to mix light sources, the sky’s the limit. In this image: on one side (camera left), this lady was illuminated with the warm orange light of the shop’s light bulbs and on the other, with the blue cold light of a cloudy day (camera right).

Or in this image where I mixed the warm natural light of fire with the blue artificial light from the projector in the background.

Exercise #1: Study other photographer’s work

Search the web and gather 20 images from your favorite photographer. Analyze his or her color choices:
- Are there themes or common colors choices?
- What is the light source: natural or artificial?
- Are there specific time frames when this photographer works (golden hour, midday, etc.)?
Exercise #2: Shoot with the wrong White Balance

To make it short, White Balance is how you help your digital camera create a more accurate representation of the colors in your image. By telling your camera the lighting conditions (cloudy, sunny, flash, etc.) you help the camera adjust to neutralize the color balance in the image.

For this exercise, I will ask you to go to the White Balance menu in your camera and shoot with the wrong setting. For example, if it’s a sunny day, choose the Cloudy setting, which will make your photo look much warmer. Or shoot in the Tungsten or Incandescent setting to make it really cool.

I took this image in Tokyo’s Fish Market, under the white light of Fluorescent. On the left image, I went for the Fluorescent white balance preset, which is indeed more faithful to the original lighting situation in the market. But, on the right image, I selected the “wrong” white balance ( daylight preset), which made the image much warmer, in color and feel. Which one is better in your opinion?

If you are shooting in the RAW image format as opposed to JPEG, the White Balance setting is not that relevant, as you can easily change it in post-processing. This is one of the characteristics of RAW files. But this exercise allows you to understand how, by intentionally changing the image’s color tone, you can create different and interesting emotional effects using color.

The author would like to thank Nicholas Orloff for his assistance in writing this article.

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The post Understanding Natural Light Part 2: Color of Light by Oded Wagenstein appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
November 4, 2015
6 Tips for Protecting Your Gear from Any Hazard and Being Prepared

There is no such thing as a magic camera, lens, filter, flash, or tripod that does it all – hence the variety of brands, focal lengths, composite materials, etc., that are available is endless. Actually, part of the fun is not just having what you need, but sometimes what you want. Like something different, even though it doesn’t have the best reviews and specs by others, or something to experiment with, to broaden your creative horizons.

By Tiffany Joyce

But, there is one thing we all must consider when going out for a shoot, and that is what to bring, or even more importantly, what NOT to bring. Oh that agonizing decision of going through the pros and cons of each widget you could bring. There countless variables depending on personal tastes, what you will be shooting, and how long you will be on your photo shoot, just to mention a few.

There is one constant though, stuff goes wrong, things break, bags get lost, and it is not always easy to get a replacement in time, or even at all. Most of us don’t have sponsors who pay for our gear, and that last lens you just picked up was a financial hardship (that you were happy to endure). So, there are some simple pieces of advice that I have picked up from my own stupid mistakes, and from others, professionals and avid amateurs alike, which might save you and your gear in a pinch.

There are many articles on, what’s in my bag, and while it is fun to see what others are doing, the real question is what should you be doing? How much of everything do you want, and what specifics are you really going for? Do you want to bring your best gear, or will something more average do just fine with much less worry? Here are some tips for protecting your gear and being prepared for anything.

In the far NE of China this longing village was cutting down full trees, and making them into dowels to be shipped to the US to make hammers. With all the flying wood chips and dust, a UV filter was added protection.

1 – UV Filters

Better than me telling you the answer here, you can google, “Should I Use a UV Filter on my lens?”. You will find results galore, and many varying opinions. But, let me show you a picture and it may just persuade you to use one.

My lens hood was on, but I had just turned it backwards to save space while I was going to eat. My lens cap was also on. Sitting down on a street market bench to indulge, I brushed the lens cap pinching the hinges just enough that the cap popped off. Then, as momentum carried me down, a steel bench post smashed into my camera and I heard glass break. My heart sank, as horrible thoughts of my lens dying raced through my head.

It could have been my front lens element, but it wasn’t! It was my $ 35 UV filter, not my $ 900 dollar lens. For casual use, keep a UV filter on! If it breaks like mine did, a circular polarized filter can be a great backup too. Just don’t forget to turn it, to make sure you are getting the best out of your filter.

This is the glass that broke and saved my front lens element. I was in a small mountain town in central Guatemala with no possibility of replacing the lens.

2 – Lens Hoods

When I generally think of my lens hoods, image quality is what first comes to mind. Less glare, less flair, better saturation and contrast, etc. Sometimes the tulip hoods look nice on a lens, so cosmetically it can be pleasing as well. But they do add significant length, and even when screwed on backwards, not protruding outwards, they increase the diameter, especially on larger lenses, making it tough to cram into your travel bag.

Recently, in Cuba I ran across another amateur photographer, and one of his first comments after exchanging pleasantries was, where is the hood for your lens? The 70-200mm f2.8 IS is a big lens, and making it 25% longer while trying to not impose on subjects, was my deciding factor for leaving the hood at the hotel. I replied, “I have my UV filter on.” He quietly said to me that he was a glass engineer, and he politely suggested, with total altruistic intention, to keep my lens hood on. It has been on ever since.

Protection value is even better than a UV filter and image quality improvements are worth it!

In a seafood market in a coastal city in NE China, squirming fish, spitting clams and twitching shrimp will definitely get salt water on your lens. Only a UV filter would leave you with water spots, but a lens hood helps keep the salt water off of the front element.

In New York State during the 2015 super snow year, following this plow, that lays gravel and salt, with my camera out the window is dangerous for a front lens element. Having all the protection of a lens hood and a UV filter is important to protect your gear.

3 – Lens Cap (front and rear)

The little lens cap: This one goes out to amateurs more than the enthusiast. If you are not shooting, keep your lens cap on. This is a very good line of defence for your front lens element. A doctor doesn’t examine a patient without protective gloves, nor should a photographer leave his lens exposed, while enjoying carnival rides or waterfalls. Keeping your lens protected is most important, but clean is essential as well.

Also, if you are switching lenses, keep an extra cap for the back of your lens in your bag. They are all the same size, unlike the front lens cap, so if you lose one it is no big deal as one size fits all. Cleaning dust, dirt, hair or oil from the inside of the lens is a nightmare.

4 – Extra things to think about when travelling

Access to your camera shop or online retailer is not possible when you’re away from home. Maybe your favorite online shop could overnight you something in any developed country, but outside the US, Canada, and some parts of Western Europe, you are out of luck.

UV filters can be found at many small electronic stores at a 20% markup or so, but the sizes available may be limited. Kit lenses these days usually have a 58m or 67mm thread size, and maybe you might get lucky if they have a 72mm filter. Anything in the 77mm or higher range will be near impossible to find. Underdeveloped nations don’t have the ability to hold stock for the occasional guy who smashed his fancy gear, (that which could feed a whole village for a week). Thus, don’t bring more, simplify. Think how you can adapt if something breaks? Like using a polarized filter or an ND filter if your UV filter bites the dust. Using an ND filter and bringing your tripod might just help you broaden your portfolio for the trip; a little blessing in disguise.

5 – CF cards

It used to be no film, no picture. Now it is no memory, no picture. Recently, I was in Central America and one trip got cancelled, and another one came up. It was a photographer’s delight, Cuba! I didn’t have my computer, and didn’t want to plug my gear into a sketchy internet bar computer. The solution in a developed country is to just stock up on a few more CF cards.

The reality is that in developing markets CF cards are not available. Finding a name brand CF card that will have 30mb/second or more, is near impossible. Developing nations are still using basic point and shoot cameras, if they have any at all, and even more popular are mobile phones with mini SD’s in them. SD cards are abundant, along with mini SD cards with adapters, but that does you no good for the higher end DSLRs. CF cards are relatively cheap and tiny compared to lenses, camera bodies and flashes. Stuff a couple extra in your bag.

In northern Ethiopia this was the one of two stores that carried electronic goods. Most items are mobile phone related.

Getting into other parts of the world, like SE Asia and China, both of which are still in the developing stage, you will find much better luck. CF cards are available, and SD cards are going to be much cheaper. UV filters will also be available for any size. If they don’t have them in that store, ask them to get you one by the end of the day, and they will call up partner stores and send them over on the back of a moped. But you know the catch, it might not be real despite how legit it looks. In a bind, strike a deal, and you will have solved your solution at least temporarily.

This was my second option for electronics. A desktop computer which was used for burning pirated movies and music. No possibility of finding higher end camera supplies.

6 – The Lens Pen

A final item that is a must is the lens pen. These are so compact, and convenient, to keep your front and rear lens elements clean. Make sure you use the brush first, then the moistened concave end for smudges. Ideally you would have air to blow off the lens first, but don’t use your mouth. No matter how careful you are particles of your saliva will appear on the lens giving you double duty. The lens pens are tiny and do wonders. Keep one in your bag, and one in your pocket, so you can get up close and personal to the crashing waves, market activity, or the big sports event. By the way, these lens pens can be found all over the world now. Grab a couple before you go, but if you lose one, or give one away to a local photographer, you may be able to find another.

Bottom line

So, when you are off on your next photo shoot, be prepared. You can’t anticipate everything, but even combined, all of the items on this list could easily fit in your pant’s pocket. Put all of them in a sturdy Ziploc bag, and you just added another element of protection. Wrap your camera or lens in the bag in really treacherous situations.

These tips provide a pretty good insurance policy for keeping your gear safe, and in proper working condition. Keeping your gear protected in harsh environments lets you focus on your creative ability to see and capture your favorite photographic styles, and do it with confidence too. Now, you still need to decide what major pieces of gear you want: super wide angle lens, telephotos, primes, single flash or multiple flashes, tripod, and the list goes on.

But be sure you have your UV filters screwed on, your hoods attached, your front and rear lens caps, and some extra memory, along with the most portable and simple cleaning lens pens.

What essentials do you have in your bag when you leave for a long photo shoot out of your home range?

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The post 6 Tips for Protecting Your Gear from Any Hazard and Being Prepared by Branson Quenzer appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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November 3, 2015
How to Create a Surreal Look in Photoshop Using Hue Adjustment
When you start learning photoshop it is scary to see all those different tools you can choose from. It is often said there are seven ways to achieve the same results, using different tools in photoshop. So, it means you have to find the one that suits you perfect, in order to give to your pictures the look that you want.

In this article I want to show you how you can change colors in your pictures using Photoshop. This is a very easy method that you can use, either you are a beginner or you are a more advanced user.

You could add a surreal twist to your images, or remove colors you do not feel like comfortable working with (I am sure we can all relate to this, because as artists we have our favorite and least favorite colors- the ones we struggle to work with!). You can use this technique for anything from changing the color of a dress or any other prop, to changing the forest tones to enhance the autumn feeling, or creating it if you want to create an autumn picture even though it is still spring.

This is the before and after color change:

Create a color adjustment with Hue/Saturation

You can get to the Curves dialog in two ways:
1. Image adjustment: By choosing Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation or Click the Hue/Saturation icon in the Adjustments panel.
2. As an adjustment layer: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation, or in your layers panel use the shortcut: New adjustment layer> Hue/Saturation.
I strongly recommend working with layers. It allows you to come back to the adjustment and to erase it, or modify it, as many times as needed. Especially when you make big changes, you may want to be able to have full control. Layers can be scary at the beginning, but trust me, they will become your best friend once you overcome this fear.

Creating a new layer you will have the following Hue/Saturation dialog box:

Select the color you want to change.

The more different you want your original color to be, the more important this selection is so that the color change does not affect areas do not want to shift. Removing a general color cast is usually a very light change. But, a total different color requires you to be more careful when selecting, and sometimes require several color adjustments.

When your object has a very clear color – as to say all red, one red tone – it is easy. When your object has different color shades it is tricky but not impossible.

In this case we are changing the color of ivy leaves, with different tones of green, blue, and even yellow.

First step: Make the color selection:

You can choose Master to adjust all colors at once, or one of the other preset color ranges listed for the color you want to adjust (reds, yellows, greens, cyans, etc.).

Or you can also choose the Targeted Adjustment Tool (the little white hand) – this is the easy way to select color if the area/object you want to change is a mix of several color tones.

Click on the Targeted Adjustment Tool and put your cursor on your image, the eyedropper tool appears. Drag it on your image, and click on the color tone you want to select.

Four color values appear in degrees in your properties panel. If you click again, you change the selected colors.

Second step: Refine your selection

To check your selection, grab the saturation slider and move it to the right to increase saturation. The idea here is to see what you have selected, and make sure you have the right colors, therefore helping you adjust the selection. For example, when editing a portrait, you want to make sure it doesn’t affect the skin tones of your subject. If editing a forest you want to make sure you have selected the leaves, but not the tree trunks (or anything in the background).

As you can see there is still a lot of blue of the leaves, that is not included in the selection. To add those blue tones you will drag the adjustment sliders to expend your selected colors, and change the color value (appearing in degrees in your properties panel).

There are four sliders. The ones in the middle allow you to expend or shorten the selected color ranges. The two sliders on both sides are to adjust the range of color and fall-off. Play with those sliders until you find a good selection. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, you can still make a second hue/saturation adjustment layer, or mask this layer.

Third step: Change the color

In your properties window, drag the hue slider to the left or right depending on the new color tone you want to give to your selection. Then you can play with adding or removing saturation by dragging that slider either way.

Learning to use hue/saturation will give you more creative options when editing your images in Photoshop. Share any images that you’ve changed the color on, or any other methods you use for doing this technique.

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The post How to Create a Surreal Look in Photoshop Using Hue Adjustment by Amélie Berton appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
November 3, 2015
7 Benefits of Doing Microstock Photography
I have to confess, it took me a while to get myself to do the exercise of actually sitting down and filtering through my old photos, to find those suitable to submit to a microstock agency to start selling. Finally, I did it, but boy how I wished I did it much earlier, back when I heard about microstock photography, the very first time.

But wait a minute, what’s microstock?

Unlike large stock photo agencies like Getty, microstock agencies are where photographers can license their photos to be sold as royalty-free images. This means buyers can use the photos they bought, without having to pay a royalty (or licensing fee) every time they use them. I won’t get into much detail on this, as you’ve probably heard of thing called “Google” by now, go ahead and read more about it.

For us as photographers, what are the real benefits to selling our work as microstock? Below are seven benefits from my own experience. However, you may find even more benefits yourself. So here we go:

1. It improves the overall quality of your photography

The reason for this is simple: Microstock agencies have strict guidelines for accepting submitted photos, in order to maintain quality. Guess what that means? Yep, you will have to actually put some efforts into taking those photos.

Every microstock agency is different, but generally speaking, things like noise, bad composition, bad lighting, weird color cast (wrong White Balance), out of focus, and blurry are pretty common reasons of rejection. This will definitely keep you on your toes as a photographer, and will force you to pixel peep your images carefully before submitting them. If that’s what the reviewers do, why waste time submitting a photo that won’t get approved? I can’t tell you how much it improved me as a photographer.

2. It pushes your creativity to new levels

There comes a point as you go through a microstock website, searching for similar photos when you think, “oh man, is there any idea that’s not thought about already?” This will make force you to actually brainstorm more creative ideas, to come up with images that no other contributor has submitted yet. Do I have to tell you how drastically this will improve your overall photography thinking process? Forget stock, this trains your eyes to see differently, and your brain cells to sprint a little harder.

3. It makes use of unused photos

While some shots you will need to purposely take for stock, others are just what you can find in your archives. If you are anything like me, you probably have hundreds, if not thousands, of unused photos laying around, taking up more disk space, let alone backup drives and cloud services. While these extra hard drives and backup services are becoming cheaper every day, the cost still adds up with time. It won’t be long before you realize you have terabytes of RAW and JPEG files, not to mention the hassle of fiddling with many hard disks.

Have you ever thought about putting your unused photos to a good use? Well, you know the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. You won’t believe how many of those photos can be used by others. They could save someone’s day somewhere on this planet. So, instead of keeping them buried down in the hard drives, dust them off, polish them a little, and if you think they meet the criteria, put them to a good use. Who knows, they might end up paying for their own recurring cloud backup expenses.

4. It gives your hobby a purpose

Hobbyist or not, you are likely into photography because it’s what you love to do. If you are not a pro who is getting paid to do photography, justifying staying up late editing your photos to your non-photographer spouse, or explaining slowing down on that family dream vacation to your kids, can be a little too difficult to do.

Let’s be honest, this is an expensive hobby, so selling your photos to microstock agencies is probably the easiest way to not only make a few extra bucks on the side, but to add a goal and purpose to your photography. On the other hand, if you are a pro, I’m sure those extras shots that you couldn’t sell and don’t need anyone’s approval to use, will hold some commercial value, so why not?

5. It is as demanding as you want it to be

Selling your photos as microstock is, well, almost like running your own mini-business, minus all the struggles that come with a full-blown business, while keeping some of the advantages. As is the case with running your own business, it’s up to you how much time and effort you want to pour into it, and subsequently, how much return you will get. The good news is, you can speed up or slow down as conveniently as you want. You are in complete control of the process, especially when this is not your main income. What’s not to like about it?

6. It can bring you satisfaction and fame

Have you heard of Google Images search? Once you started selling your photos, go ahead and search on Google using one of your images and see for yourself where, and how many times those photos of yours are being used. Your mind will be blown away by the places that your photo might end up. Don’t be surprised if a friend one day sends you a snap of a famous magazine with your photo beautifully used in it. Go ahead and brag about that to your heart’s content, use it to your advantage, and show the world that you have published work.

7. It gives you a little bit of extra cash on the side, almost indefinitely!

I kept this for last for two reasons:
1. I didn’t want you to just focus on the money part and miss the other amazing benefits.
2. I wanted to keep the best for last! Not only will selling your photos as microstock make you a better photographer and bring you satisfaction, it will also give you a few extra bucks on the side.
Did you notice how I bolded and underlined the word “few”? Unless you have a big team of professional models, makeup artists, wardrobe artists, and are doing this as your main job, you will probably not make that much money, because after-all, microstock agencies in general don’t pay very much. For instance, as a contributor to shutterstock.com, I only get paid 25 cents per download. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, in fact, if you think about it, this is only per download per image. If you have enough high quality images, with high commercial value, you will soon witness the numbers add up.

To put things in perspective, if those few extra bucks at least pay the cloud backup charges instead of draining you, or give you some extra cash to buy some accessories online, then this whole thing is very much worth it. Here’s the good news, your portfolio will continue to grow over time and with that, your photos will continue to bring you cash during your sleep almost indefinitely.

Why almost, you ask? Well, because some photos may go out of style, or will be overused by so many designers, blogs, and publications, so you will need to keep updating and adding more photos to your portfolio to keep it fresh. This should keep the income flow somewhat steady, if not improve it over time, especially when you start to analyze and learn the ins and outs and what sells more than others.

Conclusion

I wish I had someone open my eyes to these benefits a long time ago – so here you go, I hope I’m opening yours. If you are already a microstock photographer, or can think of other benefits, I would love to hear and discuss them with you in the comments section below, maybe you will open my eyes to something I’ve not seen before myself.

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Digital Photography School
November 3, 2015
How to Create a Hollywood Film Noir Portrait

I have always had a soft spot for 1940s and 50s Film Noir, where there is always a gorgeous Femme Fatale, whose charms are most likely going to get you killed. The light in those movies is the key to the ambience of mystery and danger, and I love the way the scenes are composed with smoke, shadows, and the black and white high drama with dim light aesthetic.

These movies were mostly low-budget productions shot on location in city streets, with an abundance of night scenes, where crime is the main plot. Low-key lighting is the common thread of Film Noir, with harsh light that create deep shadows, resulting in a high contrast black and white.

As a photographer the actresses’ portraits that were used by the studios for promotion really fascinate me, and I guess it influences a lot of my portraiture work.

In this article I am going to follow the steps to create this image that is a recreation of a Hollywood Film Noir portrait, done with modern equipment, and digital post-production techniques.

Research

As for every photography work, it is always a good idea to do some research, and look for inspiration. Here I used references from one of my favorite movies of all time, “Touch of Evil”, directed by the great Orson Welles in 1958.

Camera and lens

The choice of equipment is an important starting point. In this particular case I used a Canon 5D III body with a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens. This is my favorite lens when it comes to portrait work, it offers the perfect combination of good sharpness and awesome bokeh.

Lighting equipment

These images were originally lit, in most cases, with incandescent high-power bulbs, and the quality and direction of the light was mostly controlled with barn doors and Fresnel spotlights.

I decided to use two Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites, controlled by a Canon ST-E3-RT Speedlite transmitter. This created a simple setup with a gridded softbox working as a hard key light on the model’s face, and a 20º grid as a hair light to separate the model from the background.

Exposure

Usually in studio portrait images, I try to decide the exposure based on the depth of field I want to create on the image. In this particular case, I chose to use f/8.0, as it gave me enough depth of field in the face area, with the 85mm focal length.

The shutter speed is the second important factor and I chose to use 1/125, as it blocked any possible ambient light, and only register the light from the flash.

The ISO 100 is enough for the flash power available, and offers me a clean and noiseless image.

Lighting diagram

Every time I have an idea for an image I try to put it on paper. Most of the time it is just doodles in my little black book, but it helps me to visualize the setup, and the light ambiance that I want to create. Here is the quick sketch I did for this image, which represents the lighting diagram and technical information for the photo shoot.

Light metering

After setting the starting point values for the camera, it’s time to calculate the light position and power, to create the desired effect.

The background was white so a distance to subject of seven feet was enough to turn it black, which works much better with a blonde model.

The idea was to have light on half of the model’s face, and a quick fall-off to the other side, creating a mysterious mood in the image. The gridded softbox was ideal for this effect. The 20º grid created a rim light on the hair and a ratio of 2:1 to the main light, so metering was f/8.0 for the main light and f/11 for the hair light.

The click time

Now that everything is set, it’s time to click. Even tough the final image was meant to be black and white, I captured it in color mode as it gives me better choices for conversion in post-production.

Post-production

There are many tools and plugins for black and white image conversion. In this case I used the Photoshop’s black and white tool which is a simple but effective solution.

Image > Adjustments > Black & White

A few adjustments to the red and yellow channel gave me the right contrast on the skin and overall image, creating the dramatic mood.

So, here is my approach to the Film Noir portrait. It sure was fun. If you give this technique a try, please share your results and images in the comments below.

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The post How to Create a Hollywood Film Noir Portrait by Ivo Guimaraes appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

November 2, 2015
5 Good Reasons You Should Get the Latest Lightroom Upgrade

If you’re a photo-fanatic, there is a lot to keep up with. New camera models are being announced way too often, firmware updates, fancy new lenses keep popping up, and on and on.

I didn’t even mention software yet but now that I have, let’s see what’s new with our old pal Lightroom (LR) and its latest upgrade.

Since this is the default program that you’re likely to find running on almost every photographer’s computer, it’s worth discussing what you might be missing (or not if you’re a minimalist post-processor) if you haven’t upgraded to the latest version – LR 6 or the Adobe Creative Cloud (CC).

If you are like me, you will be happy to hear that the general interface has survived untouched in the latest versions. That is to say, in many respects the program has retained the same look and features, and the tasks which you are accustomed to doing, are the same.

So what do you get for your $ 79 (that’s the price of upgrading from an earlier version) or what more do you get for your $ 149 if you haven’t yet jumped on the LR bandwagon? Let’s take a peek at some of the added features that may prove most useful.

If you are still clicking away on LR 4, the long list of reasons to upgrade is even more compelling than the jump from LR 5 to LR 6 – here are some good reasons to get the latest Lightroom upgrade.

Radial Filter

The Radial Filter reveals a new level of editing control.

Probably one of the most welcome features that LR users are grateful for (I know I am), is the Radial Filter (shift+m). This filter allows you a higher degree of flexibility in masking for dodging, burning, and the other adjustments available within the Adjustment Brush.

One handy way to increase the effectiveness of the Radial Filter is after making your initial adjustments, right click on the pin and duplicate the filter. Once it is duplicated you can then choose Invert Mask from the adjustment panel and make another set of changes – perhaps making opposing changes to further the effects you applied with the first filter (this invert selection feature is lusted after for LR’s adjustment brush).

Visualize Spots

The Visualize Spots filter helps you catch dust spots and other blemishes that you may otherwise overlook.

If you are a user of the Spot Removal tool, you are going to be psyched for a handy little addition called Visualize Spots. This little check box toggles between the normal view and an inverted black and white image which clearly highlights sensor dust or skin blemishes which you may want to eliminate (if you don’t see that option hit the T key to show the toolbar).

I find this feature quite handy when editing on my laptop, as it can be easy to overlook spots on the small screen, or because of glare. It may save you the hassle of having to toss out a big print because you overlooked spots.

Facial Recognition

LR’s new Facial Recognition feature can locate people throughout your entire collection.

Facial recognition has also been added to LR’s suite of updates. This is a feature that has existed in other software for some time (such as Picasa all the way back to 2009) so LR was a little behind the curve on this one – better late than never though.

Certainly this addition made many people happy, as it means one less keyword to have to enter into metadata. When activating this mode (keyboard shortcut O) LR searches selected photos for all recognizable faces and compiles a list. You can then plug in names for the different faces which LR can then use to search for in your entire catalog.

Furthermore, LR adds these names as a keyword in metadata and has created a new sub-menu for people within the Keywords panel.

Overlay Guide

The Overlay Guide is more flexible and less cluttered than the grid overlay.

A simple addition that I find handy is a new movable overlay guide.

All it does is give you a vertical and horizontal line, that create a sort of crosshairs, which you can move around for composition and alignment purposes. It is useful as a less cluttered guide, used in conjunction with transform lens corrections.

It would have been nice to just have this nested in with the crop overlays, instead you have to access it through: View>Loupe Overlay>Guides.

Smart Previews

Smart Previews allow you to make edits to offline photos.

Smart Previews are one of those features that I always wished LR had, and my wish finally came true.

This feature enables you to create compressed copies of images which can then be used to make offline edits. This works great if, like me, you store your original images on an external drive but want to be able to make edits on the go.

If edits are made to Smart Previews in LR, your original image will be updated with those new changes when it comes back online (when the external hard drive is reconnected).

You can set LR to automatically create Smart Previews for images upon import, otherwise you can create them manually for any images, folders or collections that you wish. To create Smart Previews, go to: Library>Preview>Build Smart Previews.

Conclusion

Naturally, this is not an exhaustive list of all of LR’s newer features. There are quite a few other sensational new additions such as HDR and Panorama Merge, Cure Pet Eye Effect, Slideshow improvements, new auto-cropping features, not to mention increased performance.

Have you recently upgraded? What are your favorite new features?

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The post 5 Good Reasons You Should Get the Latest Lightroom Upgrade by Jeremie Schatz appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

November 2, 2015
3 Body Language Hacks to Improve Your Portrait Photography

I’m going to ask you to put your camera down for now. I know it’s a lot to ask, but the secret I’ve discovered to better portrait photography has, in fact, very little to do with your camera.

One of the most common mistakes budding portrait photographers make is to be so focused on getting the technical aspects right, they completely forget about the most important feature of a portrait – the person standing in front of their lens.

I’m not saying that your camera and technique aren’t important, they absolutely are. But even when you have the best technique in the world, you will not have a good portrait if your subject feels, and looks, uncomfortable.

The secret to helping your subject be relaxed and look good in pictures is body language – both yours and their’s.

Body Language

Body language is how our bodies communicate our feelings and intentions, and it makes up for a majority of how we communicate. Some studies found that as much as 92% of our communication is nonverbal, and experts all agree that, as humans, we rely first on what we see and feel, before believing any spoken word.

Why is this important in portrait photography? Because body language is the language spoken in our portraits.

Within one second of seeing a photograph, we make a snap judgment about the person – or people – in the image, and what our brain relies on to make this judgment is their body language. Big cues like slouched shoulders or crossed arms are obvious, but it’s also the small cues like a fake smile, tense hands, slightly pursed lips, or squinting eyes, that tell our brains on an instinctive level, how that person is feeling. Furthermore, if the feelings are negative, it can ruin your portrait.

So, what can you do? Let’s look at three things you can start doing right now to help your subject settle into relaxed and positive body language.

1. Identify discomfort

It’s pretty uncomfortable for most people to have their portrait taken, even if they are really looking forward to it. This tension appears mainly through blocking and pacifying cues.

Blocking gestures occur when we put something between ourselves and an uncomfortable situation. Crossed or closed arms are the most obvious signs, but the person may also be holding something like a bag or a laptop in front of them, turning their bodies away from you, and even crossing their legs tightly when standing.

Rubbing or pressure movements are called pacifying gestures. You will observe this when she’s playing with her necklace, rubbing her arms or legs, or he’s playing with his clothes, or squeezing his fingers together. Another place to look for pacifying gestures is the mouth. Lip pressing and licking, and tongue movements pressing inside the cheeks or lips show high levels of stress.

When you see this happening before or during the shoot, your subject is feeling uncomfortable and it’s going to show up in your portraits. Let’s look at how you can help them relax.

2. Show, don’t tell

People feel uncomfortable during a photo shoot mostly because they don’t know what to do. It’s really stressful to be in front of a lens and be told to pose or act natural. They have no idea what you want from them, and telling them doesn’t help.

A client of mine shared this story with me;

At my last photo shoot, the photographer asked me to smile. So I smiled. “No! Not like that!” he said “you know, relax and smile!” All I could think is “Damn, I’m not relaxed, how do I relax?” which made me stress even more, and the more he was telling me to relax, the less I was! It was horrible! I look like I’m growling in all the photos. I hate them!

So if telling them what to do doesn’t help, what can you do? Show them! People can easily mirror what you want them to do. Ask them to mirror you, and show them exactly the pose you want them to take. Not only this will help them relax, it also allows you to get them into the right body language for the picture. When working with children, you can turn this into an imitation game, and they will be playing along with you in seconds.

Mirroring is a key bonding behavior in human body language. This interaction creates an immediate connection between you and your subject, and allows them to shift their attention away from the lens and focus on you instead.

3. Be in control -even when you’re not

From the minute you meet your subject, until they walk away from the session, it’s vital that you appear in control by using confident body language, keeping your energy up, using positive words, and never showing any signs of stress – even when you’re freaking out because the settings you’re trying aren’t working.

I know this one is tough when you’re starting out, and you have to think of a million things – camera settings, composition, lighting, backgrounds, etc., and now I’m asking you to also think about what your client’s body is saying! But let’s think about this for a minute. How do you think your subject feels when they are working with a silent, stressed out, and fidgety photographer who is focusing all their attention on the camera or the lights? Not so great right? Guess where that’s going to show up? In your pictures.

They need to know that you’re in control, even when you’re not! This is a, “fake it until you become it” moment in your life. Talk to them. Explain what you’re doing. You might be concerned that they won’t take you seriously, but really, they are just curious about what’s going on. If they feel that you’re in control, that you know what you’re doing, you will keep the connection with them and help them to relax.

The best part is that you’re also going to feel more in control. Recent studies on body language have found that by changing our posture and behavior, we actually change our feelings too. Not only will you appear more confident, you’re actually going to feel more confident.

What’s next

This is really just the very beginning of how body language can help you with your portrait photography. The choice of body language cues you’re going to use in your portraits will also have a huge impact on the feeling and quality of your images, and your relationships with your subjects.

Understanding body language is not just an option if you want to be a portrait photographer, it’s a vital skill; as vital as breathing is to a singer, or taste is to a chef. You will not be able to consistently create beautiful portraits of people, or create a fun experience for them if you ignore it.

The good news is that this is a skill you are born with, and have unconsciously practiced since your youngest age. However, most of us simply don’t pay attention to it because nonverbal communication is not part of our training curriculum, at school or later. Just like a musician will be more alert to sounds through practice, and a chef to taste through experience, I’m confident that you will soon become attuned to your subjects body language if you put in a little work.

Soon you will have mastered an amazing skill that will not only be useful in your work as a photographer, but also in everyday life.

Do you have another other tips about body language? Please share in the comments below along with any images demonstrating body language in your portraits.

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The post 3 Body Language Hacks to Improve Your Portrait Photography by Dee Libine appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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November 1, 2015
Supporting Your Off-Camera Flash – Tripods, Monopods or Light Stands?

I’ve generally been a natural light photographer. I understand natural light and love its variability. Normally it’s enough to get some beautiful photographs; many photographers stop here and go no further.

Constantly critical of my own photographs, I realized that I was at the mercy of natural light, searching and modifying, but rarely creating or directing. That’s why I chose to learn how to use flash those years ago. To get full control, it’s essential to put the flashes where you want them, and for this, you need to support them. This article will talk about the options available to you for holding your speedlights and off-camera flash.

Off-camera flash

Human Light Stands

Using a human light stand is one of the easiest ways to support an off-camera flash and is often overlooked. If you can get someone to hold your flash, you get what’s effectively a voice activated light stand (VAL). It’s easier to change lighting setups this way, especially if your subject is moving. There’s also less hassle on windy days. That said, most people won’t know how to position the lighting modifier and it will tend to drift as you’re shooting. Another photographer or an experienced photography assistant will be very useful.

Handheld

Hand holding is quite simply, having either you, or an assistant hold the flash. It’s perfectly possible to do this yourself if you feel comfortable taking pictures with one hand, and it gives you a lot of control. Or hand the flash to someone else and let them know where to point it.

Monopod Boom

Again, you can do this yourself, and it helps if you have the monopod touching the ground because it means that your arm doesn’t feel as tired while holding a larger softbox or beauty dish. Or your photography assistant (or family member, friend, or passer-by) can boom, or hold the flash up, to light your subject from a higher angle. This gives you a lot of control and if you look at photographers like Annie Leibovitz and Joey L, you’ll see that their assistants are often using this approach.

It can be heavy so make sure you pause for breaks. I use a long aluminium Benro monopod that allows me to attach a flash to either end. It’s cheaper than the Gitzo alternative, but do bear in mind that there seems to be no after-sales support. Carbon-fibre is lighter, but not essential.

Off-camera flash

Tripods

I’ve been using my tripods to support my off-camera flashes for a long time. First because I already have them, and secondly because they are perfect for uneven ground. Generally they don’t get the flash high enough, but they are stable, especially if you weight them down by hanging a heavy camera bag from the center column.

Small, Lightweight Tripod

This is my go-to option when I’m travelling light and won’t have an assistant. The idea is that the tripod is so small and light, that I can wear it on my belt and largely forget about it. Of course it doubles as a tripod, which I’d normally want to have with me anyway. It’s flimsy by itself and needs to be weighted down with a camera bag. It’s also far too small for most purposes, so it needs to be up on tables and so, to get more height. But you’re more likely to actually carry it, so that’s a good thing. I use a 1kg Sirui tripod that I’m pretty happy with, especially for the price, with an equally small and light ball-head.

Big, Heavy Tripod

As I began to use larger lighting modifiers, like huge octoboxes and parabolic umbrellas, I needed a heftier support for them. I happened to have an enormous old tripod which has been excellent. It weighs a lot by itself, and is definitely bulky, but is easily carried with its broad shoulder strap. It’s perfect for uneven ground, and can be made more stable by hanging the camera bag from it. I use one of Manfrotto’s largest tripods which gets the flash over my head (I’m 6’2″). It’s old, and very durable.

Proper Light Stands

And then there are dedicated light stands, designed for the purpose of supporting off-camera flashes. I started using these when I wanted to get the flashes higher above the subjects. Some are light and flimsy, and others heavy and stable. Some stack together, and others are designed precisely for travel. They seem to break regularly in transit, or just being used on set. They do get the flashes high off the ground, but they don’t seem particularly stable because they’re tricky to weight down with the camera bag, and as soon as the ground is uneven, they’re a pain to use and won’t work on a steep slope.

Supporting Larger Flash Modifiers

Light Stands

These come in several shapes and sizes. Generally all the legs open at the same angle so they only work on fairly flat ground. Smaller light stands meant for travelling are a good solution, though they can be flimsy. Larger light stands can get the flash very high off the camera. Balanced properly, they can be used with a boom pole to get the flash over your subject.

C (entury) Stand

My most recent acquisition, and now my go-to light stand unless I’m travelling light, is the C-Stand or Century Stand. It’s an old design from Hollywood film studios, and very well engineered. It weighs a lot which is inconvenient if you’re walking to your shooting location, but helpful because it means the stand is more stable in use. The legs are also made so that it’s very easy to weight them down using sand bags. I personally use a lead diving weight belt for ballast. Importantly, one of the legs can move along the central column, which means that you can use the stand on uneven ground and on stairs. It’s not quite as versatile on uneven ground as the huge tripod, but it’s much taller; up to 3 meters (9.8 feet). It’s cumbersome to pack because it’s an L-shape, but when it’s on location, it’s perfect. The included boom is very useful, and can handle hanging backdrops too. I use the C-Stand from Pixapro which is well made enough to outlast me. It’s designed to make it a pleasure to use. Though not a pleasure to carry!

You can see the various light modifiers in the video below, as well as see them used on location.

Any questions, let me know in the comments below. Do you have any other creative solutions for holding off-camera flash?

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The post Supporting Your Off-Camera Flash – Tripods, Monopods or Light Stands? by Ben Evans appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

October 31, 2015
Weekly Photography Challenge – Light Trails
This week since it is the week of goblins and ghouls and spooky things, let’s do some photography in the dark! You can check out these image of light trails to get some ideas.

By Vida Dimovska

Weekly Photography Challenge – Light trails

Light trails is about long exposures in the dark, capturing something that is illuminated and moving. The result is a trail of light through your image, without seeing the original subject.

By nicolas michaud

That could be cars moving along a darkened city street, sparklers, a flashlight, or anything that lights up. You could even get creative and try moving the camera to create light trails from a stationary object.

Here are some articles to help you out:
- How to do Long Exposure Photography and Light Trails at Night
- 5 Advanced Tips for Light Trail Photography
- Photographing Light Trails
- How to Make Unique Portraits Using Light Painting
- 13 Great Subjects for Urban Night Photography
- A Fun Light Painting Project – Parabolas
By Caffeinatrix

By Darlene Hildebrandt (I made this image by rotating my tripod side to side during the exposure)

By William Greene

By i am dabe

Share your images below:

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

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The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Light Trails by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
October 31, 2015