Adobe has released a video sneak-peek of a new feature due to be introduced into Creative Cloud which the company is calling ‘Focus masks’. In the video, Zorana Gee, senior Photoshop product manager explains that with focus masks, Adobe is ‘adding a new way to make an automatic selection based [on] pixels that are in focus versus out of focus’. Click through to watch the video and learn more.
Alien Skin Software has launched an update to its popular photography effects software, Exposure. Announced in April, Exposure 6 has a new processing engine for instant image effect previews, a new user interface for a faster workflow and tools for ‘Bokeh.’ It’s available for download now at $ 149 for new users and as a $ 69 upgrade for existing users. Read more
The Ricoh WG-4 offers a 16 megapixel sensor and a 25-100mm equivalent F2.0-4.9 lens. Identical to its WG-4 GPS sibling in almost every way except for the obvious (one has GPS and a front-facing display, one doesn’t) the WG-4 is waterproof to 14m/45 feet, freezeproof to -10° C/14° F and shockproof to 2m/6.6 feet. Take a look at our real-world samples. See gallery
The Olympus Tough TG-3 is a slightly more enthusiast-focused rugged compact, offering a 25-100mm equiv. F2.0-4.9 lens, 16 megapixel sensor, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi. It’s waterproof to 15m/50 ft, shockproof to 2.1m/7 ft and freezeproof to -10° C/14° F. Like its peers it records 1080p HD video. We put its waterproof claims to the test – find out how it did in the real-world. See gallery
Location-based search for restaurants, taxis or other services, as offered by Yelp, Uber and a multitude of other apps, have been around for a quite a while. Now, a new service called Picquest wants to apply the same concept to photography. The Android and iOS app allows you to find photographers on a map or get notified of photographers in your geographical proximity. It’s an interesting potential social networking and business tool for phtoographers. Learn more
Nikon has issued a firmware update for the Coolpix A. Version 1.11 decreases minimum focus distance (in normal focus mode) and boasts improvements to autofocus acquisition. Other improvements are minor, including better battery performance during interval shooting. Get the update
Adobe’s Lightroom 5 is a powerful program, but that power comes at the expense of a learning curve that some find pretty steep. In this excellent video shot at B&H, Photographer Robert Rodriguez, Jr. walks photographers through the functions and features of Lightroom’s Develop module in an hour-long hands-on tutorial as he covers just about every panel and slider in the Develop module. Learn more
As soon as it arrived we wasted no time getting out with the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III, and in the past few days we’ve also added a lot to our first-impressions review, including a movie page, shooting experience and studio comparison images. This weekend presented an opportunity to update our gallery of real-world sample images too, bringing our gallery to 87 images, including a handful of raw conversions. See more.
Last time FashionPhotographyBlog.com spoke to Linh Le from Hong Linh Photography she had informed us that she had finished a photo shoot over a weekend that involved UV paints. The results resulted in a beauty shoot inspired by African tribes. From the feedback that we received about that post, we asked Linh if she could tell us more about the technical aspects of putting a shoot together for our readers. Linh shares with us her top tips for photographers who are thinking about taking on a shoot with UV paints and the key things to look out for.
1) Control all lights, including the ambient light! Linh revealed that failure to do so can have unflattering results, as she explained “My rehearsal shoot was a complete disaster! I set everything up in my living room and it was quite late at night, so there was no light coming through the window blinds, doors etc. My plan was to use our dim light as the ambient light. But the results were just horrible. The skin looked extremely uneven and red. It was really frustrating; I tried all sorts of settings. But that was not the problem; the problem was the lighting, the colour temperature of the lights. They were too yellow. So, I changed the LED fairy lights, which I used as back light, to a different set and because the shoot was during the day, I was able to use the daylight coming through the thin curtains and the results were completely different.”
2) Use a tripod, Linh recommends, in order to get sharp images, it is essential to use a tripod here.
3) Use a fast shutter setting and a low ISO, the settings Linh used were 1/8 sec, f2 and ISO 200.
4) To help your camera focus in such low light, Linh also recommends that it is also helpful to use a torch.
5) Test the colors first – Linh advises that “Some of the colours such as gold and silver glow less than others, so make sure you test them out first and mix them if necessary.”
6) You don’t need to go all out on expenses. You can pretty much get all you need cheaply in one site as the photographer revealed that “Getting all the supplies for the UV shoot was easier than I expected. I ordered the colours and two UV light tubes on Amazon, which were about £60 altogether.”
7) Use low wattage for subtle effects as Linh explained “As I did not want the glowing effect to be too extreme, I only used 20W UV lights, so this will depend on your personal style and taste.”
8) Using fabric as backdrops has its advantages. You can play with the effects of different backgrounds simply by changing the color or pattern of fabrics. Linh shared that “For the background, I bought curtain fabric which was dark but had interesting patterns on them which I wanted to be visible on the image.”
9) To get some back light in order to separate the model from the background, you can use fairy lights as the photographer has done on her shoot.
10) When asked if she can give us one last secret, Linh shared that getting the balance of lighting right is essential, “I think the secret lies in finding the perfect balance between the UV light and the ambient light, which is a matter of trial and error.”
There you have it, according to Linh Le, that’s basically all you need to set up a shoot with UV paints. Of course, shoot requirements may vary, depending on the result you want to achieve.
According to the photographer, the biggest challenge with doing UV shoots is to find the best lighting setup and camera settings and finding the right balance for your shoot can only be figured out through experimentation.
I hope this anyone who is thinking of doing a UV shoot and don’t know where to start. We’d love to see and hear about your results! Once again, we’d like to thank Linh Le from Hong Linh Photography for sharing her top tips for doing a shoot using UV paints. Do you have another tip? Post them in the comment section below.
To find out more information and see all the images from Linh Le’s UV shoot as well as other shoots, you can check the blog on her website www.honglinhphotography.com
You can contact her via e-mail: mhlinh.le@gmail.com
message Linh on her website: www.honglinhphotography.com
or Facebook page (Hong Linh Photography).
Photo Credits:
Photographer: Hong Linh Photography
Make Up Artist: Sophie Le
Models: Wendy Ng & Ana Santos
One of the most talked about new features of the HTC’s latest flagship smartphone, the One M8, is the Duo Camera. Using the primary camera and a second sensor to create a shallow depth-of-field effect, the Duo Cam produced less-than-perfect results in our testing. But thanks to an update to the Gallery app, the effect can now be adjusted. Learn more