Category: Photography

5 Mobile Photography Accessories You Will Never Leave Your Home Without

I don’t know a single photographer who would think a Canon L lens-shaped coffee cup is something not absolutely amazing! Today, web stores are packed with mobile photography accessories you could only imagine: Camera-resembling iPhone cases, camera-shaped keychains, various photo-filters and hotshoe mounted levels. All of them arouse the “I-want-it-now” feeling and make your hand click the “Add-to-cart” button without Continue Reading

The post 5 Mobile Photography Accessories You Will Never Leave Your Home Without appeared first on Photodoto.

Photodoto

September 13, 2013
The Drama of Light

Andrew S. Gibson is the author of Mastering Photography: A Beginner’s Guide to Using Digital Cameras, on offer now at Snapndeals for a limited time.

There are two sides to learning photography, the technical and the creative. Technique is important, as you need to understand what aperture, shutter speed and ISO do to the look of the photo. You also need to get the exposure and focus right.

The creative side comes from understanding light and learning how to compose a strong image. This takes time, is subjective and takes longer to learn.

The magic happens when the two come together, something I stress in Mastering Photography. I refer to this as the ‘Creative triangle’. The concept to grasp is that while you can learn how to use every single function on your digital camera, it doesn’t help you much if you have no understanding of light or the fundamentals of composition. The three go together.

Dramatic light

One way to create a strong, eye-catching image is to use dramatic light. This is how my dictionary defines the adjective ‘dramatic’:

1. Of or relating to drama or the performance or study of drama.

This makes me think of a spotlight lighting an actor on a stage.

2. Sudden and striking, exciting or impressive, theatrical.

So it seems that a type of light that appears suddenly (such as through a break in a storm), or that is exciting, impressive or theatrical (the drama reference again) in some way, is dramatic.

My thesaurus throws up some interesting synonyms for the word dramatic, such as exciting, stirring, sensational, spectacular, startling, unexpected, remarkable, extraordinary, exceptional and phenomenal.

The more I think about it, the more I realise that one of the reasons dramatic light has such an impact is because, by its nature, it occurs rarely.

That’s good news for hard-working photographers, as you can increase the odds of experiencing dramatic light by putting yourself in situations where it is likely to occur. Here are some ideas:

Take advantage of stormy or otherwise dramatic weather. I created this image from a lookout just before a huge rainstorm hit. Be careful in storms – don’t put yourself somewhere where you might get struck by lightning, and make sure you have some sort of waterproof camera bag or wrapping for your camera.

Get out at the end of the day. The quality of the light is often both beautiful and dramatic at the end of the day. You never know what might happen as the sun sets. It might cast rays of light through a break in the clouds, or give you amazing colours – but you’ll never know if you’re not there.

Searching for dramatic light in nature is a little hit and miss – sometimes you will get yourself in position when conditions look promising and nothing exciting happens. You may even live somewhere with a climate that rarely gives the weather conditions required for dramatic light.

Take control by putting dramatic light into the scene yourself. The above photo is a good example. My model span a fire hoop (a hoop with kevlar wicks that you can dip into fuel and set alight) during an exposure of eight seconds. The light from the flames was very dramatic and gave a red colour cast to the background.

Add drama with portable flash. In this example I set an exposure that darkened the sky and rendered the tree and ruined building as dramatic silhouettes. I then used portable flash to light my model. It takes a while to learn how to use portable flash well, but the advantage is that you can use it just about any situation to add dramatic light.

Mastering Photography

My latest ebook, Mastering Photography: A Beginner’s Guide to Using Digital Cameras introduces you to digital photography and helps you get the most out of your camera. It covers concepts such as lighting and composition as well as the camera settings you need to master to take photos like the ones in this article. It’s available now at Snapndeals for a special price for a limited period.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

The Drama of Light

Digital Photography School

September 13, 2013
Zooming In: Using Telephotos In Landscape Photography

This shot of the Blue Ridge Mountains was taken with an EOS 5D Mark III and EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens at 200mm. The telephoto nature of the lens compresses the distance between the ridges, creating a flat, graphic look with shades of blue created by the mountains and mist in the valleys. Exposure is 1/3″, f/16, ISO 400.

This shot of a lone pine on the side of a cliff was taken from Glacier Point at sunset. Using a 400mm lens allowed me isolate the tree being kissed by sunlight while the background behind went dark. I used an EOS 5D Mark II with EF 100-400mm L lens at 400mm. Exposure was 1/60 f/8, ISO 100.

If you’re anything like me, when presented with a beautiful landscape, your first instinct is to reach for the wide angle lenses and take it all in. And there’s no doubt about it- wide angle lenses can excel in those situations. But don’t neglect the telephoto lenses in your bag when you find yourself faced with nature’s beauty. Telephoto lenses can create shots that are every bit as breathtaking as their wide angled brethren.

Telephoto lenses, first and foremost, can allow you to isolate an area of the view you are shooting, because a telephoto sees a narrower angle of view than do wide angle lenses. Because of this narrower angle of view, telephotos also help normalize the size of near objects in relation to faraway objects. With wide angle lenses, when you fill the frame with a near object, it will appear much larger than a similar sized object placed further away. With telephoto lenses, near objects and far objects will appear to be similar in size, because telephoto lenses normalize the size and distance when comparing the two objects. The downside to this is that the scene can then appear to be static and flat.There are cases where the flatness can be used to advantage, for instance creating graphic images using the lines and colors of the landscape.

Telephoto lenses appear to compress distance, so two objects relatively far apart will appear to be very near to each other. This is helpful when trying to enhance the density of a subject, such as a field of flowers. Flowers will appear to be stacked right next to each other, even though they may be several feet apart. This can be used to great advantage for creative textures and patterns.

Often, when I’m trying to divide the space in my bag, a friend will ask why I need a telephoto lens when I’m planning to shoot landscapes. This is why. I may not use it every time, but when I do get an opportunity use a telephoto lens in a landscape situation, I like to be able to take advantage of it.

This shot, taken with an EOS 5D Mark III and EF 70-300 f/4-5.6L, shows how you can isolate one area of a landscape, here focusing on Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite National Park.

This shot of the Alaska Range was taken from Denali Highway using an EOS-1Ds Mark III and EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS II. The telephoto lens compresses the distance between the foothills and the mountains, making them appear to be right next to each other.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Zooming In: Using Telephotos In Landscape Photography

Digital Photography School

September 12, 2013
Live Hangout At 1pm PST Tomorrow

I’ll be doing a live hangout on sunset photography tomorrow at 1pm PST on Google+. Come hang out with us. Details below.

Thomas Hawk Digital Connection

September 12, 2013
Wedding Photography: Shooting The Rings

This bride and groom are both serving in the army, and both are gun enthusiasts. I asked the groom if he had their guns handy, and a bullet, and came up with this shot as one of the ring shots. This shot was taken in available light, under a tent outdoors. EOS 5D Mark III with EF 100mm f/2.8L IS; ISO 2500, f/16, 1/125.

In my career in photography, I’ve chosen not to focus on weddings as a business model, and shoot only a few every year. I try to avoid being “traditional” in my approach to weddings, mixing traditional shots or types of shots with my own approach- which may or may not have been borrowed from other photographers I have worked with.

One such shot is the ring shot. It is what’s known as a detail shot, and while this may not be the most important shot of the wedding, it is one of the shots that helps sets the tone of an album, and can allow for a lot of creativity if you have the time. If the shot fails, it will definitely be noticed.

The bride and groom in this wedding had a special affinity for the beach, and brought a beach theme to their wedding. Shells were scattered about the tables. I selected a few and quickly shot the rings on a table. The room was brightly lit with daylight pouring in the windows nearby, and I set my flash to bounce off the ceiling to add just a touch more light. . EOS-1D X, EF 100mm f/2.8L IS. ISO 800, 1/250, f/5.6.

There are many ways to go about these types of shots, some more cliche than others. The one that always comes to mind is a shot of the rings resting on the invitation, or the rings casting a shadow of a heart on a Bible opened to 1st Corinthians. My preference is to find something personal that connects the rings to the bride and groom, or else I’ll pull something from the theme of the day. It may take some digging with your clients to find that personal connection- maybe a story about how they met, or something they share together, but once you find it, it can make shooting the ring shot a lot more fun. If I can’t find a personal connection, I’ll use flowers, the bouquet, or a even a champagne cork. Be creative. There are a lot of ways to photograph wedding rings that will make them stand out.

There was no overriding theme at this wedding, and as a second shooter I didn’t have time to get to know the bride and groom. I found a flower arrangement and played with several arrangements before settling on this one. EOS 5D Mark III, EF 100mm f/2.8L IS. I bounced the flash off the ceiling for this shot. ISO 800, f/8, 1/200.

Technically, while a macro lens is helpful, it’s not absolutely necessary. You can highlight the rings in whatever setting you choose, but be careful not to let them get lost in the setting. Typically I use a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS macro lens, but any lens that will let you get fairly close will work, depending on your composition. Ideally, I would use off-camera flash every time, but weddings tend to me fast moving events, and there isn’t always time to do it the way you’d prefer. In this case, I’ll set up a small reflector or bounce card to bounce the flash and give a better quality light. I will often try several angles to get different looks. Outdoor weddings during the day are a bit easier. I’ll look for a shaded area and shoot the rings in the available light.

Ring shots are often my most fun shot of the day. There’s no one stressing about their hair or makeup, and no one trying to pull their attention in a different direction. So use the ring shot as your moment of peace on an otherwise busy day, and have some fun with it.

This shot was also from the military wedding. The bride and groom are knife enthusiasts as well. The groom gave me one of his knives and I played with a few arrangements before shooting this one. EOS 5D Mark III, EF 100mm f/2.8L IS. ISO 3200, f/9, 1/125.

This is another set up from the military wedding. His ‘n’ hers .45′s. This shot doesn’t require a macro lens, though I used the EF 100mm f/2.8L. EOS 5D Mark II, Ef 100mm f/2.8L IS. ISO 3200, f/16, 1/160.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Wedding Photography: Shooting The Rings

Digital Photography School

September 12, 2013
Lightroom’s Tone Curve Explained

It’s no secret that there are many ways to enhance our photographs with Lightroom. By using just a handful of sliders we can get some great results in a matter of minutes and by learning how to use tools like the gradient filter tool we can create some more specialized effects with just a little extra effort.

So with all these great tools is there still a need for the Tone Curve tool in Lightroom 4 and beyond? Or is it just another way of creating the same effects?

What is Lightroom’s Tone Curve Tool?

Well the answer to that question really lies in the details of what you are trying to accomplish with your post production. The Tone Curve tool is designed to allow you to modify the various light levels found within an image in a way that will give you greater control over the tonal range and contrast of your photograph.

As we capture our images we are capturing an array of light from the scene. From the darkest of the shadows to the whitest of the highlights the Tone Curve gives us a way of visually modifying how these levels of lights appear in the final image.

With the changes made to the basic tab back in Lightroom 4 the Tone Curve tool certainly doesn’t boast the power that it once did in comparison, but that doesn’t mean it’s useless. Today I’m going to show you how you can use the tool to modify your images and squeeze every little bit you can out of the tonal range that you’ve captured. As I’ve numbered above there are five ways that we can modify our images using the tool – let’s break them down now.

Number 1 – Make Tone Curve Adjustments by Dragging In Your Photo

I honestly didn’t even notice this button until I started doing research for this article, but it does add a cool little function to the Tone Curve. By clicking on this button your mouse cursor will change allowing you to click and drag within your photo to make adjustments.

As you hover over your image you will notice that a point appears on the Tone Curve in the box to the right. As you move your mouse this point will move according to the light level of the area you are hovering over which makes it easy for you to determine what levels of light need adjustment in your image.

To use this tool simply click and drag up for more or down for less effect of the selected light level. It is important to note that this is a global change so it doesn’t just effect the area where you’re hovering, but all like pixels within the image.

You’ll notice in the image below I dragged down on an area in the green algae and up on a highlight on the frog’s face. The result is more contrast in the final image. Please keep in mind that the examples in this article are extremes done to demonstrate the tool and not necessarily how you would use it in practice.

Number 2 – Adjust Tone Curve by adjusting the curve itself

The Tone Curve itself is something that you can modify simply by clicking and dragging on the areas you wish to change. As you hover over the curve you’ll notice different pieces of the curve will be highlighted to show you what levels of light you are going to effect with your changes and how much room you have to make these changes.

In this photo I added a little more contrast by dropping a point towards the shadows end of the curve and raising a point towards the highlights end of the curve. This can be done in a similar manner with the sliders below the curve (see number 4 for that example).

Number 3 – Adjust the strength of each light level’s region

With this area of the tool we’re controlling the amount that each ‘region’ of light (highlights, lights, darks and shadows) effects the image.

The default settings (which are set in the modified image of #2 on this list) are set at 25, 50, 75 for the three sliders. In the first image below I’ve slid all three sliders to the right (an extreme example I know) which gives the shadow tones a greater impact over the overall photo. In contrast to this, the second image I’ve slid the sliders to the left which as you might expect gives the highlights within the image more impact. In most cases I never touch the default settings, but they are good to be made aware of and might be useful one day when processing a specific image.

Number 4 – Adjust using the familiar slider set up

Much like the sliders from the basic panel the sliders in the Tone Curve work in a similar manner. Slide left to lower a setting, slide right to raise a setting, double click to reset to zero.

It’s very straight forward and is important to note that it doesn’t do anything different than the other two methods I mentioned above. In fact you’ll notice that when you make any adjustments whether using #1, #2 or #4 the sliders and the tone curve will move to their respective positions regardless of which method you use to make your adjustments.

Number 5 – The Point Curve Presets

Today we are going to only be talking about the three presets of the point curve and save the button in the lower right corner for another day – the presets are as follows – Linear, Medium Contrast and Strong Contrast and as you might expect the names pretty much say it all.

Linear contrast is a default and fairly flat setting and when using this setting you’ll notice that the curve is a straight line from the lower left corner to the top right corner. Medium and Strong contrast presets effect the ends of the curve in either a subtle way or a less subtle way changing the amount of contrast that is applied to the image simply by expanding the ranges of light at the ends of the curve.

In the example below I’ve simply switched from a Linear Curve to a Strong Contrast Curve to show the differences.

When Would You Use the Tone Curve?

So now that we know how to use the tool, the question remains, when would you use it? I find that in my typical workflow I rarely touch the Tone Curve except for a small tweak here or a slight adjustment there. In my eyes the tool is designed to be a final adjustment to your images. Need a little extra shadow detail? Pull them down just a hair. Need some stronger highlights? Pull up on the highlights slider just a bit.

Of course you can get really creative with the Tone Curve to create some very unique and interesting effects and you can even click on the button that I didn’t cover above in the lower right hand corner and have access to the RGB scale and not only modify the overall tonal range, but the range specific to each color level in your photograph – but that’s an entirely different article.

Do You Use The Tone Curve?

With all the power that Lightroom offers in the other areas of it’s program it’s very easy to overlook the tone curve, I know I did for years, and even today I don’t go much further than applying one of the preset point curves to a photo, but I’d love to hear if you use it in your regular workflow and if so which one of the region adjustments do you use most often?

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Lightroom’s Tone Curve Explained

Digital Photography School

September 12, 2013
Google+ Releases Advanced New Photo Editing Tools

Today Google+ released a whole new enhanced online photo editing suite of tools. I’ve been playing around with them for the past few hours and am impressed with what you can do with them as an online editor. While they won’t replace my more traditional desktop tools (i.e. Lightroom, Photoshop, Nik, FX Photo Studio Pro, etc.), I think a lot of more casual users will love them.

The online editor does a lot of the basics of editing (contrast, brightness, shadows, cropping, sharpening, structure etc.), but it also comes with some pretty slick vintage and what they call retrolux editing. These new tools allow you to customize your photos in a lot of the more popular faux photo styles currently hip with the Instagram crowd. While G+ offers some quick filters, they also give you more granular control over how much of each sort of effect you want.

The new editor also includes spot editing tools, which allow you to adjust only parts of a photo that need it and some interesting spot focusing tools, including tilt shift editing.

I edited the photo at the top of this post using the new G+ tools. It’s great to see Google continue to invest and innovate in the online photo sharing space. Below are some screen shots of some of the tools in action.

You can find more information about the new tools here and in the embedded post at the bottom of this post.

Thomas Hawk Digital Connection

September 12, 2013
MotoCMS Giveaway: Win 1×3 Professional Photography Website Template (Worth $139 Each)

Here on Photodoto, we know for sure what the biggest dream of every photographer is – it’s a professional, stunning portfolio website! Let your dreams come true! We’re pleased to announce a MotoCMS giveaway where all of you have a chance to win one of three premium website templates from our partners MotoCMS, spiced up with their powerful admin panel. Continue Reading

The post MotoCMS Giveaway: Win 1×3 Professional Photography Website Template (Worth $ 139 Each) appeared first on Photodoto.

Photodoto

September 11, 2013
Win a Beautiful Retrospective 7 Bag and $1000 to Spend on Lighting and Lenses!
Last week we announced our new Portrait Photography eBook with a 25% discount for early birds.

Readers have already shared with us some wonderful portraits they’re now capturing with the help of this eBook, and the reviews have already started to flood in.

To celebrate, as we like to do with our new eBooks, we’re going to offer up a prize!

Order a copy of Portraits: Lighting The Shot before the 4th of October EST and you could win a Beautiful Retrospective 7 Bag and $ 1000 to spend on lighting and lenses!

If you’re already a proud owner of a this wonderful new eBook then congrats, you’re already entered.

The Prize

The winner will receive a Retrospective® 7 (Pinestone) (worth $ 162) from ThinkTankPhoto. Plus you can choose lighting or a combination of lenses or to suit your needs up to the value of $ 1000 USD (after reading the eBook you’ll have a good idea of what you need).

FAQ

Based upon previous competitions I know we’ll get a number of questions so here are some FAQs:
- What if I already purchased Portraits Lighting The Shot? You’re in the draw and don’t need to do anything else.
- Is this open to all international readers? Yes. We’ll ship the prizes to you anywhere at our cost. Our preference for the lenses and lighting is to use B&H Photo and Video but if you live outside of their delivery area we’ll work with a local supplier to get your prize to you.
- Can I enter more than once? No, there is only one entry per person. Multiple purchases of the eBook only get you one entry.
- Are there any conditions of entry? Yes, just one. The only condition of entry is that you allow us to publish your name on the blog when you’re drawn as a winner (we’ll keep any other details private). This way everyone will know who has won (we’ve previously had winners ask not to be named which has been difficult to be transparent about winner announcements).
Here’s the deal in a Nutshell

Buy Portraits: Lighting The Shot before Thursday 4th of October EST and you get:
- 25% off the eBook – worth $ 19.99, you get it for $ 14.99
- An entry into the Bag,Lens and Lighting Prize Pack Prize Draw
- Plus (and most importantly) you’ll come away from reading the eBook with some inspired Portrait Lighting skills!
We’ll draw and notify the winner on the 5th of October and then publish their name here on the dPS blog. If the winner doesn’t respond within 7 days we’ll draw another winner and publish their name on the blog.

Pick up a copy of Portraits: Lighting The Shot today.

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Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Win a Beautiful Retrospective 7 Bag and $ 1000 to Spend on Lighting and Lenses!

Digital Photography School
September 11, 2013
Ignore The Naysayers. Go Create Stunning Images

There has been a spat of posts and articles recently extolling the storyline that “Photography Is Dead!” or “Creativity Is Dead!” or both. And then some. The articles I have read rightly point out that more people have cameras and are sharing images on the likes of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. And that most of those images are not some form of art (the food you ate, a self-portrait (or ‘selfie’ as they are colloquially know) or yet another sunset, etc…).

They also point to this deluge of images as something that is dragging down photography as a whole and beating the creativity out of the art form. They point to the overall averageness that this mass use of the medium has created.

But I think they are missing a point.

While there are exponentially more people taking photos these days thanks to phone cameras and cheaper, instant digital cameras in general, this is in no way killing creativity. If you’re reading this on DPS then you are someone who wants to learn and improve your photography skills. And that’s my point;

Even though the masses might be churning out average images that don’t inspire, and far more of them today than just 20 years ago, this in no way stops someone who sees photography as an art form from creating beautiful, inspiring art.

What this mass use of the medium has done is only highlight what was already there; That the masses, on average, are average at any given art form.

This is nothing new, but it is made far more obvious because of the ability to share any image with the online world as a whole at any point in time. For instance, most of us are average, or below average in my case, drawers or sketch artists. It’s only because drawings are not as easy to be shared over the internet as a photograph that this fact is not brought to our attention. If every pencil had built-in wifi and out sketches were posted online in real-time, we’d have sketch artists complaining about the “deluge of average” instead of photographers.

To use an analogy, it would be like saying that because cars are mass-produced and, to a certain degree, look the same, that there are no more extraordinary cars. No more creativity in the automobile industry. But that is blatantly false when a look is given to manufacturers like Ferrari, Bugotti, Tesla, Lambroghini and others. Not only that, right now, some place on this planet, there is a man or woman in their home garage who is crafting a custom car unlike any you have seen.

Or better yet, look at motorcycles. Not only can I not really tell one street rocket from another, or one Harley Davidson from another, there are major production TV shows dedicated to the art of building beautiful, creative street machines.

I see a lot of cars and motorcycles while driving the highways around LA. A lot. And I can’t tell you how many Toyota Camrys or Chevy Cruzes I have seen. But any time a custom motorcycle goes by or any time I spot a barely-legal, wedge shaped ‘super car’…those moments turn my head and drop my jaw.

And for you, the learning photographer (a group that will always include me as well), that is your lofty goal. Not to be mired in the hoopla that prices paid for images are dropping through the floor and creativity is therefor dead (the business side of photography in the digital age is another discussion altogether). Your goal is to create head turning art.

If you want to rise above the sheer volume of average photos and get your photography noticed (either for profit or vanity or just to show the world how beautiful or scary it is) you need to be creative and create something worth noticing.

In the end, realize those people telling you creativity is dead and that photography is dead are spending time, like me right now, at a keyboard NOT creating beautiful images that inspire and rise above the din of mediocrity. They are only extolling their opinion about their single-person viewpoint of a huge art form and that things aren’t the way they use to be or how the author wants them to be.

You need no one’s permission to be creative or to produce stunning art. Ignore opinions that tell you creativity in any art form is dead. They are just opinions.

Need some inspiration? Click here and here and here and here and here and here.

Grab your camera, any camera, and go create.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Ignore The Naysayers. Go Create Stunning Images

Digital Photography School

September 10, 2013