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Archive for April, 2017

The dPS Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

16 Apr

Note: this is one of the most comprehensive articles we’ve written on Lightroom. Read it below or get a free downloadable copy to print and/or refer to later by adding your email address below and we’ll send you a copy.






 

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If you’re new to Lightroom you may be wondering what it does, how it differs from other programs (like Photoshop), and how to use it to its full potential – this article will answer a lot of questions and help you get started.

The reason that Lightroom has become so popular is because it is a workflow application. You use it to manage your photos the moment they are downloaded from your camera’s memory card and saved on your hard drive. Once they are inside Lightroom you can organize them into Collections (a type of virtual folder) and process RAW, JPG, and TIF files.

You can also add photos to a map to organize them by location, create a photo book or slide show, print photos, or export them to other programs for further processing. Lightroom remains at the heart of your workflow as you do it all.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

Lightroom can be used for printing photos as well as processing and organizing them. It’s the complete workflow tool.

The Lightroom Catalog

The Lightroom Catalog is a database containing a preview of every photo you have imported into Lightroom. It also contains a record of each photo’s metadata (which includes all processing done to it) and the location where it is saved on your hard drive. Lightroom works by saving the edits you make to your photos as a series of text commands in the Catalog. This includes any and all processing instructions you set up for each image.

The benefit of working this way is that it saves a lot of hard drive space. This is especially true when working with RAW files, as there is no need to convert them to 16-bit TIF files first (as you do in Photoshop) to work on them. All processing in Lightroom is non-destructive, meaning you can undo any steps or everything, and return to the original state of the file at any time.

Lightroom Modules

Lightroom has seven modules (Library, Develop, Map, Book, Slideshow, Print, and Web). You can only work in one module at a time. This article concentrates on the Library and Develop modules, as they are the most important to learn first, and one you’ll use most often.

Scroll down to the end of the article for links to other articles I have written that explain how to use the other Lightroom modules. I’ve also linked to other articles throughout this guide that expand on the points within.
The Library Module

The Library module is the heart of Lightroom. It’s where you view, search, filter, and organize your imported photos. For example, if you want to find all your photos taken with a particular camera or lens, that’s easy in Lightroom (it takes seconds).

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

This example search shows all the photos taken with my Fuji X-T1 camera and a 35mm lens in 2016.

But the real benefit of the Library module is that it lets you organize your photos any way you want. It does this by using Collections, a type of virtual folder system.

Folders are limited for organization purposes. Let’s say you took some photos of a friend called Peter in New York in September. You can only save those photos in one folder on your hard drive (which may be named Peter-New York-September or something similar).

But in the Library module you are free to add the photos to as many Collections as you want. In this example, you could have a collection named Peter, another called New York, and another named September. In fact, you can add the photos to as many Collections as you want. You have complete freedom to organize your photos how you see fit.
How to Import Photos Into Lightroom

As Lightroom is built on a database (the Catalog) you have to import photos before you can do anything with them. During the import process, Lightroom adds your selected photos to the Catalog and generates previews for viewing. Imported photos stay in the Catalog forever (or until you remove them) and don’t have to be imported again.

If this is the first time you have used Lightroom, then it will look something like this when you open it. There are no photos to see because nothing has been imported yet.

Lightroom tutorial 03

The screen is divided into four. This basic layout is repeated throughout the seven modules.

1. The Module picker: The bar at the top that tells you which module is currently active. Click the grey triangle (arrow) at the top to make it disappear, saving screen space.

2. The side panels: The left and right-hand panels containing all the Library module tools. Click on the grey triangles (arrows) to hide them.

3. The Filmstrip: This displays thumbnails of the photos in the currently selected Folders, Collection, or search results. Click the grey triangle (arrow) at the bottom of the screen hide it.

4. The Content window: This is the central display area. You view photos here after they have been imported into Lightroom. Use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Tab to hide all four side panels and see only the middle content window portion. This is handy when you are sorting and flagging images.

More on sorting and flagging images in Lightroom here: 4 of the Most Important Elements of the Lightroom Library Module.

Importing Photos into Lightroom

If this if your first import you will probably be adding photos that you have already downloaded from memory cards to your hard drive. You can also import photos directly from a memory card, or a connected camera or smartphone.

If you have already saved your photos in folders it is best to import one folder at a time. This gives you time to organize your images as you go along. Be aware that Lightroom will make you wait a long time while it builds previews if you import too many images in one go.

This is what happens during the import process:

  • Lightroom notes where the imported photos are saved and adds this information to the Catalog.
  • Lightroom reads each photo’s metadata and saves that in the Catalog. This includes the camera settings and file names, data that is used to help search images.
  • Lightroom creates a preview of each imported photo and saves it on your computer’s hard drive.
  • The previews are saved in a previews (.lrdata) file.

Please note the following: This is important and often trips up first-time Lightroom users. Your photos are not stored in the Catalog. Backing up the Catalog does not back up your images. Nor are your photos stored in the cloud if you’re a Lightroom CC subscriber. The Catalog only stores the metadata and processing information.

Always remember that your photos are saved on your hard drive. You can only back up your photos by backing up the hard drive on which you’ve saved them.

The Import Window

Get started by clicking the Import button. Lightroom opens the Import window. It’s divided into four areas.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

1. Source: This designates from where Lightroom will be importing the photos. All devices and hard drives connected to your computer are shown here.

2. Photo thumbnails: Ticked photos will be imported into the Lightroom Catalog when you press the Import button. You can choose Check All or Uncheck All at the bottom of the thumbnail window. To select several in a row tick one, hold the Shift key and select another – Lightroom will tick all of the images in between. To select random images hold the CMD/CTRL key and click each one individually.

3. Import options: These tell Lightroom what to do with the photos. You have four options, they are:

  • Copy as DNG – Lightroom copies your files and converts any non-DNG Raw files to the DNG format. Only select this if you understand the benefits (and disadvantages) of using the DNG format.
  • Copy – Lightroom copies the selected files without changing the format. Use this to copy files from a device or memory card over to a hard drive.
  • Move – Lightroom moves the selected files from their current location to a new one. This is the same as Copy, except that Lightroom deletes the originals afterwards. This option is NOT recommended if you are downloading from your memory card! Always use Copy for that, so that if anything goes wrong during the import process you still have your original images on the car.
  • Add – Lightroom adds the selected photos to the Catalog, without copying them. Use this if the imported photos are already saved in the correct place on your hard drive (i.e. you aren’t downloading them from a card).

4. Destination: Where you tell Lightroom to save the imported photos and what to do with them along the way.

If you select the Add option you’ll see two panels here. File Handling (where you can select the preview options and save a second copy to another drive) and Apply During Import (which allows you to apply Lightroom develop presets to all the images being imported, this can save a lot of time if you wish to apply things like Lens Corrections, a slight edge vignette, etc., to all your images).

If you select Copy as DNG, Copy or Move you’ll also see the File Renaming (where you can rename and number your images) and Destination (tell Lightroom where to put your actual images) panels.

Further reading: Make Lightroom Faster by Using DNG.

Putting it Together

Now it’s time to import your first photos. This initial workflow assumes that you’re importing files that you have already previously saved to a hard drive.

  1. Under “Source”, navigate to the folder containing your photo files.
  2. Select the Add option from the top section.
  3. Open the File Handling panel (on the right, click on the heading to open and close panels). Set Build Previews to 1:1.
  4. Open the Apply During Import panel and set Develop Settings and Metadata to None. This is just to keep your first import simple.
  5. Click the Import button. Lightroom takes you to the Library module and starts importing the selected photos. It takes a while to create the 1:1 previews, but the wait is worth it as it makes viewing your photos much quicker.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

At some point, you’ll want to import photos directly from a memory card, camera, or Smartphone. There are a couple of extra steps in this process.

  1. Under “Source”, navigate to your memory card containing your photo files.
  2. Select Copy (instead of Add) at the top of the Import window.
  3. Set the File Handling and Apply During Import panel settings as above.
  4. Ignore the File Renaming panel (advanced users only).
  5. Under “Destination Folder”, select where you would like to save the imported photos. You can create a new folder by right-clicking on an existing one and selecting Create New Folder.
  6. Click the Import button when you’re ready.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

How to Organize Your Photos in Lightroom

Photos are saved in folders (on your hard drive) and organized in Collections (in Lightroom). You can view both Folders and Collections in the Library module, but you can only view Collections in the other modules. This is one of the reasons why you will want to use Collections to organize your images.

You can create as many Collections as you like. The more you use Collections, the more you will appreciate how useful they are.

Lightroom has several types of Collections

Collections: Virtual folders to which you can add any photos imported into Lightroom.

Collection Sets: Another type of virtual folder. You can add Collections and other Collection Sets to a Collection Set, but not photos. They are for organizing Collections.

Smart Collections: Collections populated automatically according to criteria set by you. Lightroom already contains several Smart Collections, you can add more as you see fit.

Published Collections: These have a lot of uses, but the most common is for sending images to photo sharing websites like 500px and Flickr. This is for advanced users only.

For Further reading on this topic, check out:

  • How to Upload Photos to Flickr and 500px Using Lightroom 5 (the information applies to Lightroom 6 and Lightroom CC as well).
  • How to Publish Images Directly to Instagram From Lightroom.

Book, Slideshow, Print, and Web Collections: Created in Book, Slideshow, Print, and Web modules. These collections keep track of images used in these modules for specific projects you create.

This screenshot shows the icons used to represent Collections in Lightroom.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

  1. Devon (1) is a Collection Set that contains a Collection.
  2. Speke’s Mill Walk (2) is a Collection containing photos.
  3. Print (3) is a Print Collection.
  4. Web Gallery (4) is a Web Collection.
  5. The Collection Set Smart Collections (5) contains . . .
  6. The default Smart Collections (6) that come with Lightroom.

The numbers on the right tell you how many photos are in each Collection. We will concentrate on Collection Sets and Collections in this article.

Creating Collection Sets

1. Go to the Collections panel and click on the plus (+) icon. Select Create Collection Set.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

2. Give the Collection set a name. This might be something like the year or the country where the photos you imported earlier were taken.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

3. Right-click on the Collection Set you created and choose Create Collection. Give it a name (relevant to the photos you just imported), tick the Set as Target Collection Box and click Create.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

4. Go to the Catalog panel and click Previous Import. Lightroom displays the images you imported earlier in the Content window. Go to Edit > Select All to select all the photos and press the B key. Lightroom adds the selected photos to the Target Collection – the one you just created.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

Further reading

Now that you understand the basics of the Library module, you can learn more about organizing and searching your photos with these articles.

  • 5 Essential Things You Need to Know About the Lightroom Library Module
  • Use Lightroom Collections to Improve your Workflow
  • How to Organize Your Photos in Lightroom
  • Making Sense of Lightroom’s Grid View
  • The Hidden Secrets of Lightroom 5’s Loupe View
  • How to Find Your Best Images With Lightroom 5’s Compare View
  • Comparing Images with Lightroom 5’s Survey View
  • How to Create and Use Smart Collections
  • Four Advantages of Using Lightroom Collections
  • How to Use the Filter in Lightroom’s Library Module

The Develop Module

Now that you understand the basics of the Lightroom Library module, it’s time to get started post-processing some photos. To do so, select an image by clicking on it, then press the D key. This keyboard shortcut takes you straight to the Develop module.

The layout of the Develop module is similar to that of the Library module. The Filmstrip (bottom) and Module Picker (top) are the same. What have changed are the panels on the left and right-hand sides.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

When you’re ready, hide the Module Picker, Filmstrip and left-hand panels by clicking on the grey arrows (triangles). Your screen should look something like this – the photo you’re working on is in the centre of the screen (the content window) and there are some panels on the right.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

The panels on the right contain most of Lightroom’s RAW processing tools. You can jump around these in whichever order you want, but it makes sense to use a purposeful workflow and approach them in a logical order.

I’m going to show you my workflow. Follow this to start with (it works) but don’t be afraid to switch things around if you find a way that works better for you.

This article isn’t long enough to cover every tool in the Develop module, but I will cover the most important ones, and include links to articles that explore the other tools in more depth.

Camera Calibration Panel

There are two important settings you will want to take note of in this panel:

  1. Process: This should be set to 2012 (Current).
  2. Profile: The options here match the color profiles of the camera used to take the photo (and vary by manufacturer), plus the Adobe Standard option. Select the most appropriate for your photo. This should be done at the beginning of your post-processing as the profile affects both color and contrast.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

Don’t worry about the other sliders in the Camera Calibration panel they are for advanced users only.

I set Profile to Camera Landscape for this photo. This is the best profile to use as it brings out the soft blue hues of the early evening sky.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

By comparison, this version using the Camera Standard profile, is not as effective. There is a big difference between the colors in both photos, which shows why it is important to set the most appropriate profile at the beginning of your workflow.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

Lens Corrections Panel

Some photographers like to work with this panel near the end of their workflow. I place it near the beginning because it’s important to correct barrel distortion in landscape and architectural photos, otherwise you can’t straighten horizons using the Crop tool accurately.

To get started there are only two things you need to do inside the Lens Corrections panel. Both are found under the Profile tab.

1. Tick the Remove Chromatic Aberrations box. This tells Lightroom to automatically remove any chromatic aberrations in the photo. {Link to this URL with the highlighted text https://digital-photography-school.com/chromatic-aberration-what-is-it-and-how-to-avoid-it/ }

2. Tick the Enable Profile Corrections box. Lightroom should automatically detect the lens used to take the photo and apply the correct profile to eliminate barrel distortion and any edge vignetting that is present.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

There are two things to note here:

  1. The screenshot shown is from Lightroom CC. If you have Lightroom 6 or an earlier version of Lightroom the Lens Corrections panel has a different layout.
  2. Don’t tick the Enable Profile Corrections box if the Built-in Lens Profile applied message is displayed underneath. Some cameras have built-in lens profiles that are automatically applied by Lightroom. You won’t find profiles for them in the menu.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

If you have Lightroom 5 or earlier, the Built-in Lens Profile applied message isn’t displayed, even if the photo has one. If you can’t find the profile for your lens in the menu, it is either an old lens that Adobe hasn’t profiled or a new lens with a built-in profile (this mainly applies to lenses from Mirrorless camera systems).

Ignore the other tools in the Lens Corrections panel for the moment, they are for more advanced users.

Basic Panel

The Basic Panel is quite important as the work you do here establishes the tonal values and colors of your photo. Most of your post-processing is done here, and the tools in the other panels are used for refining the image.

White Balance Sliders

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

Here you can use one of the presets (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, etc.) or adjust the Temp and Tint sliders yourself. Move the Temp slider left to make the image cooler or move it right to make it warmer. The Tint slider is for removing green or magenta color casts (usually caused by fluorescent lights).

Alternatively, select on the eyedropper icon and click a neutral grey or white area in the image. Lightroom analyzes the pixels under the cursor and sets the White Balance sliders to remove any color cast (making the image color neutral).

There are three ways to use White Balance:

  1. Create an image with neutral color.
  2. Give the image a warm color tone. You might do this with a landscape taken during the golden hour (when the light is naturally warm) or a portrait (as warm colors are more flattering for skin tones than cool ones).
  3. Create a cool color tone to give the photo a cold feel (perhaps for a landscape photo taken in the winter).

Once you have decided which of these three paths you want to go down, you can adjust the sliders to suit. For example, I gave this portrait a warm tone by setting the White Balance to the Shade preset.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

Here, I set White Balance to Daylight. This gave the portrait a blue cast which is much less pleasing to the eye.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

Presence Sliders

There are two more sliders at the bottom of the Basic panel that affect color. They are called Vibrance and Saturation. Move them left to reduce the color intensity, or right to increase it.

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners

The Saturation slider affects all colors equally. The Vibrance slider has a greater affect on saturated colors. Play around with them on a few different photos to get a feel for how they work. Be careful – these sliders are best used for desaturation of colors (lowering the intensity) rather than increasing them (which often looks false).

The Clarity slider emphasizes texture when you move it right, and reduces texture when you move it to the left. Setting Clarity to +20 or +30 improves most photos (but beware of using it on portraits where it can over-emphasize skin texture and wrinkles and become unflattering to the subject). It may also change the brightness of the image.

This photo has Clarity set to zero.

Lightroom tutorial 16a

This version has Clarity set to +30, bringing out the texture in the bricks and roof tiles.

Lightroom tutorial 16b

Further reading: Four Ways to Improve Your Photos with the Clarity Slider.

Tone Sliders

The Tone sliders are for adjusting brightness and contrast. If you’re feeling lucky press the Auto button to see what happens. If you don’t like the effect simply go to Edit > Undo to step backward.

Lightroom tutorial 17

  • Exposure slider: Move it left to make the photo darker, right to make it brighter.
  • Contrast slider: Move it left to decrease contrast, right to increase it.
  • Highlights slider: Move it left to make only light tones darker, or right to make them lighter.
  • Shadows slider: Move it left to make only dark tones darker, or right to make them lighter.
  • Whites and Blacks sliders: Don’t worry about these sliders at this stage.

The best way to learn how to use the tone sliders is to use them and see what happens. Take the following photo as an example. This is how it looked before making any adjustments.

Lightroom tutorial 17a

In this version I set Shadows to -68 to make the bottom part of the image darker, and Highlights to +43 to make the sky lighter. Notice that this effectively increased the overall contrast of the image as well.

Lightroom tutorial 17b

Tone Curve Panel

This is an easy one for newcomers to Lightroom, as my recommendation is that you avoid it for the moment. You can work just as effectively with the Tone sliders in the Basic panel.

There’s just one exception to this – some of you may be comfortable with the Tone Curve because you have used in extensively in another program like Photoshop. In that case you can go right ahead and use it in Lightroom too.

Lightroom tutorial 19

HSL / Color / B&W Panel

The sliders in this panel give you much greater control over the colors in your image. You can also use them to convert your photo to black and white. The complexities of this panel are a little beyond the scope of this article, so I’ll point you towards the following articles to learn more.

Further reading:

  • Mastering Color in Lightroom using the HSL Tab
  • How to Convert Photos to Black and White in Lightroom
  • Understanding the HSL Panel in Lightroom for Beginners

Lightroom tutorial 20

Split Toning Panel

This is another panel that is useful both when working in color (for color grading – adjusting the overall color balance of the image) and in black and white (for toning photos). Once again, it’s a little advanced for Lightroom newcomers, but you can learn more with these articles.

Lightroom tutorial 21

Further reading:

  • How to Split Tone Black and White Photos in Lightroom
  • How to Create a Vintage Look using Lightroom
  • Understanding the HSL Panel in Lightroom for Beginners

Detail Panel

The controls in this panel have two purposes. The Sharpening sliders are there because RAW files are slightly soft (they are unsharpened) straight out of the camera. The Noise Reduction sliders are for reducing noise caused by using high ISO settings or long exposures (longer than five minutes).

Lightroom tutorial 22

The best thing to do is leave them at their default settings. They are good enough for most photos.

Effects Panel

The Effects panel is used for adding vignettes, adding grain (to imitate the look of film) and (with the Dehaze slider, available only in Lightroom CC) for removing atmospheric haze.

Lightroom tutorial 23

It’s another panel you can skip over for the moment. This will give me space to tell you about something that will really help improve your photo processing in Lightroom – making local adjustments.

Local Adjustments

Local adjustments are kind of a big deal in Lightroom because they are what elevate your post-processing technique from good to great. There are very few photos that can’t be improved by some sort of local adjustment.

First, let’s look at a definition. A global adjustment is one that affects the entire image. All the Develop module tools you have learned to use so far are global adjustments.

Local adjustments affect only part of the image. If you have a Photoshop background, then you know that you can make local adjustments in Photoshop using selections or masks. The theory is the same in Lightroom, but the tools are different.

Lightroom has three tools for making local adjustments; the Graduated Filter, the Radial Filter and the Adjustment Brush. You have the same options for each one.

Lightroom tutorial 30

The most obvious use of a local adjustment is to make part of the image lighter or darker (using the Exposure slider). But you can also adjust contrast (with the Contrast slider), color (with the Temp, Tint or Saturation sliders) or emphasize texture (with the Clarity slider). The more you use your imagination the more uses you will figure out for local adjustments.

The Graduated Filter

This tool is named after graduated neutral density filters used by landscape photographers to make the sky darker. The Graduated Filter inside Lightroom does something similar. The key to making the most of the Graduated Filter is to look past its most obvious use in landscape photography, and think about how it can be used elsewhere.

To start, click the Graduated filter icon (marked below), or use the keyboard shortcut M. The Graduated filter panel opens beneath the histogram.

Lightroom tutorial 29

Add a Graduated filter by clicking on the photo and holding the left mouse button down. Hold it and drag the mouse down over the image.

The Graduated filter is marked by three lines, which spread farther apart as you move the mouse. The further apart you pull the lines, the softer the graduation of the effect you’re applying will be. You can move the Graduated Filter by clicking and dragging the grey pin at the center.

This may sound complicated, but a few minutes playing with the Graduated Filter tool is all that’s required to get the hang of it.

I used three Graduated Filters on the following image. This is what I started with:

Lightroom tutorial 24

This is the result:

Lightroom tutorial 25

These screenshots show you the location of each Graduated Filter (shown in red) and the settings used for each one.

Lightroom tutorial 26

Lightroom tutorial 27

Lightroom tutorial 28

The Radial Filter

The Radial Filter was introduced in Lightroom 5. It creates a circle or oval shaped selection. You can apply the affect to the area inside or outside the selection.

Click on the Radial Filter icon (marked below) or use the keyboard shortcut Shift+M. Hold the left mouse button down and drag the mouse across the photo to create the filter.

Lightroom tutorial 31

You can change the size and shape of the Radial Filter by clicking and dragging the four white squares around the edge. Rotate it by moving the cursor to the edge of the filter until it changes from a hand or plus icon to a double curly arrow. Click and drag on the arrow to rotate the Radial filter.

Use the Feather slider to set the softness of the gradient at the edges of the Radial filter. The default setting of 50 seems to work well, but you can change it as needed.

Lightroom applies the adjustments to the area outside the Radial filter by default. Tick the Invert Mask box to apply the adjustments to the area inside it instead.

One use for the Radial filter is to darken the edges of your image to draw the eye towards the subject. Here’s an example, using a photo of a dandelion that I decided would look better if I made the green area darker. This is what I started with:

Lightroom tutorial 32

Original image.

Lightroom tutorial 33

This is the difference with the Radial Filter applied.

This screenshot shows the location of the filter, the area affected by the adjustment (in red), and the settings used.

Lightroom tutorial 34

Further reading:

  • Lightroom’s Secret Weapon: The Radial Filter and How to Use it.
  • Understanding the Radial Filter in Lightroom.

The Adjustment Brush

The Adjustment Brush is for making local adjustments that can’t be easily carried out with either of the Graduated or Radial filters. Click the Adjustment Brush icon (marked below) or use the keyboard shortcut key K. The Adjustment Brush panel opens up underneath the histogram.

Lightroom tutorial 35

You’ll find sliders for setting the size, softness (feather0, and strength of the brush at the bottom. Start by selecting Brush A (if it’s not already selected). Use the [ and ] keys to adjust the brush (you can also use the Size slider).

Use the Feather slider to adjust the softness of the brush (or hold the Shift key down and use the [ and ] keys). The size of the Adjustment Brush is displayed with two circles. The inner circle shows the area fully covered by the brush. The outer circle shows the feathered area. The gap between the two circles changes as you adjust the Feather setting (make it bigger for a more gradual effect).

Lightroom tutorial 36

Here’s an example of the how to use the Adjustment Brush. I wanted to emphasize the texture in the baboon’s face. The Adjustment Brush is the best tool to use for this because I could paint over an area that matched the shape of his face.

This screenshot shows the masked area (in red) which will be affected. I set Clarity to +51 to bring out the texture in the animal’s skin and fur.

Lightroom tutorial 37

Lightroom tutorial 38

This is the starting image.

Lightroom tutorial 39

This is how it looks with the adjustment made.

You can create another Adjustment Brush by clicking on B and changing the settings. You can switch between the A and B brushes whenever you like. If you want another that is different just click New and you can add as many Adjustment Brushes as you need.

If you paint over an area you don’t want to effect, just select Erase then paint over the parts where you want to remove the mask.

Flow controls the opacity of the brush; density sets the maximum strength. For now, keep both at 100 (you can learn more about these controls if you get into advanced retouching techniques) and vary the strength of the effect with the slider settings.

Leave the Auto Mask box unticked for now. It’s bit of a specialized tool that often doesn’t work very well.

Further reading:

  • How to Retouch a Portrait with the Adjustment Brush in Lightroom
  • 5 Tips for Using the Lightroom Adjustment Brush Tool
  • How to Create and Import Custom Adjustment Brush Presets for Lightroom

Combining Local Adjustment Tools

In Lightroom 6 and Lightroom CC you can use the Adjustment Brush to refine the mask created by the Graduated and Radial filters. This is an advanced tool that is very useful for creating precise selections.

Further reading:

  • New Graduated and Radial Filter Features in Lightroom 6
  • How to Save Images Using Export in Lightroom

The Other Lightroom Modules

Lightroom has several other modules, which aren’t possible to cover here. These articles will help you learn more about the Map, Slideshow, Print, Book, and Web modules.

Further reading:

  • How to Create a Simple Blurb Photo Book in Lightroom
  • Two Useful Lightroom Print Module Custom Layouts
  • How to Create a Simple Slideshow in Lightroom
  • An Overview of Lightroom Web – What is it and who is it for?

Conclusion

Lightroom may seem intimidating when you are new to the program, but the reality is that once you understand the basics of importing and processing images it really is surprisingly straightforward to use. The lessons learned from this article lay a foundation on which you can build to truly master Lightroom. This powerful program will become the center of a new and efficient workflow that saves you time and is easy and enjoyable to use.

If you have questions about the content of this article then please let us know in the comments below. I’ll do my best to help.

For more Lightroom learning you can also check out our course Lightroom Mastery here on dPS.

Author bio: Andrew S. Gibson is a long time Digital Photography School contributor and the author of the Mastering Lightroom ebooks.

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Ask the staff: How are you shooting the cherry blossoms?

16 Apr

Mention ‘the Cherry Blossoms’ to a Seattleite and they’ll know exactly what you mean: the week or so in early spring when the University of Washington’s cherry blossom trees are in full bloom on ‘the Quad.’ It’s a thing.

It’s also beautiful, if you can work around the mobs of people who flock there each year. The unpredictable, often dismal weather and the crowds make for interesting challenges to overcome, but DPR staff are always up for a challenge. So we gathered at the Quad recently, each equipped with a camera and lens of our choosing, and challenged ourselves to take our best cherry blossom shot. Take a look at the video above to see how we fared.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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7 Ways to Become More Spontaneous with Your Street Photography

16 Apr

As you become more experienced and comfortable doing street photography, you will notice that the way you shoot will begin to change. You will notice more, focus more on what you like, and your work will improve significantly. At this point, it can be important to embrace spontaneity in the way that you shoot.

street photography NYC

So often the first shot of a scene that you take will be the best, for reasons I can’t explain, except that your gut and instinct are something to embrace with this type of photography. The more experienced you become, the more vital they will be.

Here are some tips that have helped me to shoot in a more spontaneous fashion.

1. Choose your camera settings so that you can forget about them

The first step is to figure out your camera settings so that you can forget about them. You don’t want to worry about your camera or changing settings as you’re shooting. When you’re feeling good, it often feels like the camera isn’t there.street photography

If it’s a shady day and the lighting is consistent, then it’s easy to choose your settings and not have to worry about them. But it becomes tough when you are shooting in direct sunlight, where some areas are lit with extreme light and others are in the shadows.

For these situations, what I will do is change my camera to Aperture Priority mode, around f/8, and I will put my ISO up high, to around 1600. I will make sure that when I point my camera at shady areas it will still give me a fast enough shutter speed, like 1/250th of a second, to freeze motion in people. Then, when I point the camera in sunny areas, the shutter speed will be something insane, maybe 1/1000th or more of a second.

Obviously, these settings are not perfect for sunny areas since the ISO is high, but with newer cameras, ISOs of 1600 look beautiful. I prefer to shoot with these settings because it allows me to forget about my settings regardless of what light I walk into. It makes the day much more fun and relaxing, and I can spend more energy looking around.

2. Slow down and shoot quick

street photography NYC

When I work with newer photographers, I often seeing them run from place to place, searching for that elusive spectacular moment, as if the more ground they cover will yield more of those moments. Those moments will occur whether you are moving fast or not. Except when you are moving fast, you’re not focusing on the area that you’re in at the moment. There are interesting photos everywhere, particularly in places that you might have previously disregarded.

The slower you move, the faster you will be able to react when something happens. By increasing your awareness, you will allow yourself to be more spontaneous. You will have more gut feelings to follow. This will allow you to react much quicker when actually capturing the photograph.

3. Spend more time looking with your eyes than the viewfinder

street photography scene

In street photography, your eyes should be the real viewfinder. Focus your energy on looking around. It’s actually hard to do, especially if you are easily distracted or going from place to place. Notice the potential for something to happen with your eyes and get in position, then the viewfinder and camera will follow. But it should almost feel like the camera isn’t there – the hard work is done before you even bring it up to your eye.

4. Figure out how to take good photographs anywhere

street photography - garbage

Stop taking things for granted. The more you think an area will not provide you with a good photograph, the more you should try to get a good one there. Much of the time you’ll get nothing, but you will be surprised how often this works out, and it’s a fantastic way to train your eye.

This will also allow you to create unique and interesting photographs. By shooting in areas where not many others photograph, your good shots will be unexpected. They will stand out.

5. Go with your gut

street photography - crosswalk

We’ve talked a lot about going with your gut already, but what does that really mean? When you’re out there shooting, you’re going to get feelings that moments are about to happen. Most people wait to actually see something happen before they shoot, and often the moment has disappeared by then.

When you feel something good is about to occur, capture the moment in a quick and spontaneous way. Go for it instinctively – use your instincts to your advantage and develop them. While many of these shots will turn out to be nothing, when you hit one at the perfect moment, you will be left with an incredible image that you could not have captured otherwise. Be spontaneous.

6. Don’t worry about perfection

street photography

It is common for newer photographers to worry about cutting people’s feet off, something getting in the way, or the shot being skewed. I have heard so many comments about wishing that a person, group, or object wasn’t in the background or in a certain location. This is, of course, important stuff to consider. But when I hear these comments being made, I detect that the reason they find these things annoying is because they ruin the perfection of the image.

Have you ever shown an image to someone and the first thing they notice is this random background detail that’s barely noticeable? This is part of having too much focus on perfection, and it can drive you crazy. You’re trying to get the most perfect and clean image possible, and that is rarely possible in street photography. You take what is given to you, and an interesting moment is an interesting moment.

Street photography is supposed to feel real, and so many of those imperfections can add to that feeling of it being a spontaneous moment. They can improve an image just as much as they can ruin it. Try to embrace these imperfections when you can as being part of a real and special moment.

7. Don’t be afraid to take weird photographs

street photography - weird

These photographs are for you. You don’t need to take photographs that appeal to everyone, and not everything has to be perfect, grand, and pleasing. Capture photos that are not standard, off in some way, and weird. Focus on what interests you and try to foster that. This is where the voice in your work will begin to shine.

The post 7 Ways to Become More Spontaneous with Your Street Photography by James Maher appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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5 Tips for Photographing Street Portraits

16 Apr

Isn’t it always the way that the most daunting things in life are usually the most rewarding? It takes a certain amount of backbone to shoot street portraits. Whether it’s walking up to a total stranger and asking their permission, or taking a more candid, reportage style approach, many photographers get put off through lack of confidence.

It’s a great shame because there is no more fascinating photographic subject than people.

Street portraits Thailand

If you follow the Humans of New York project, you’ll know that every single person has a story to tell; sometimes uplifting, often heartbreaking, occasionally hilarious. The very best street portraits give us a glimpse at those stories in a single frame.

If you’ve always wanted to give it a go but have yet to summon up the courage, hopefully, the following tips will give you all the motivation you need.

The approach

The first time you approach a potential subject is going to be the hardest. It can sometimes feel like an insurmountable hurdle. But try and think about it from your potential subject’s point of view. He or she is going about their daily routine, possibly doing the same thing they have been for years and finding it all a little boring. Then, out of nowhere, someone has judged them interesting enough to want to take their picture. Chances are, you’ve just made that person’s day. At the very least, you’ve given them an anecdote to tell their friends.

He or she is going about their daily routine, possibly doing the same thing they have been for years and finding it all a little boring. Then, out of nowhere, someone has judged them interesting enough to want to take their picture. Chances are, you’ve just made that person’s day. At the very least, you’ve given them an anecdote to tell their friends.

street portraits photography China

Different methods

So, what’s the best way to approach someone? Different photographer’s stand by different techniques. Some just come straight out and ask if they can take a picture. Others want to try and make a connection first in a more roundabout way, striking up a conversation or asking questions.

One psychological technique favored by many salesmen is to first ask for a small, unrelated favor, such as directions or whether they have the correct time. Studies have shown that once someone has done you one favor, they’re much more likely to say yes to another, bigger one. Don’t ask me why—people are complex!

In any approach, confidence is obviously vital, but enthusiasm is just as important. Enthusiasm is contagious. Be genuinely interested, listen carefully to what they’re saying and be respectful. Also, if you can make them laugh, or at least smile, you’ll find all their barriers will start to lower.

The environment

Street portraits market London

Where you find your subject (i.e. their environment) can sometimes tell you as much about them as what they look like.

Finding an impeccably groomed city trader striding around the financial district is to be expected. But finding him in a crowded flea market hints at a story. If the environment adds to the portrait, include as much of it as you need to enhance the photograph.

If you want your portrait to be all about the person, if they have an interesting face or you want to highlight the way they dress, try and find a background that won’t distract from them. A busy background can confuse the eye and take away from the impact you’re trying to make. If you need to, open up your aperture to throw the background out of focus and bring attention back to where it should be.

Street portraits photography East Timor

The eyes have it

The most important part of your portrait will always be the eyes. The eyes tell us everything; how the person is feeling, what they’re thinking, if they’re happy or anxious, and even if they would rather you stopped taking their picture.

street portraits photography China

Eye contact

Eye contact is incredibly powerful in real life. If you’re talking to someone and they maintain a natural, unwavering eye contact, there’s something primeval that makes you trust them and creates a connection. It’s the same with a portrait. You need that eye contact to make a successful shot.

If you photograph a subject who’s not looking directly back at you, the natural instinct is to follow their gaze to see what they’re looking at. You can sometimes use this to your advantage to draw the viewer’s eye towards an element of the picture you want them to focus on. For example, in this shot of a man carrying baskets full of rabbits, the eye line of the two children always brings us back to the cages.

street portraits candid photography China

On a technical note; as I’m sure you’ve noticed, people tend to blink. Try to take a quick burst of shots of your subject to ensure you capture at least some with their eyes open. Autofocus systems can also tend to hunt around, and taking more shots increases your chances of grabbing a pin sharp image.

The candid street portrait

If you’re looking for a way to ease yourself into this genre, shooting candid street portraits holds some definite advantages. You do away with the whole nail-biting business of asking permission and perhaps suffering a rejection. You capture people as they really are rather than the front they put up when a camera’s pointed at them.

But that’s not to say candid street photography is easy. If anything, it’s more difficult (or, at least, a different kind of difficult) and can be just as nerve-wracking.

street photography portrait candid Jerez

Your timing has to be split second in order to capture the spontaneous moments that occur all around you. You need to know your equipment inside out in order to be able to frame a great composition and adjust settings as needed quickly.

Capturing great candid street pictures takes a great deal of practice and a lot of luck. Whatever your personal feelings are on the ethics of taking someone’s photo without permission, there are people who really don’t appreciate it.

It would be very unlikely you’d get into any serious trouble, but it’s worth using your street smarts and common sense. As a personal rule of thumb, if a certain person looks too mean for me to even consider asking permission to photograph them, there’s no way I’d try and sneak a shot.

The technicalities

Whatever type of street portraits you’re taking, the one thing you don’t usually have on your side is time. With candid shots, you’re constantly reacting to the world as it unfolds in front of you at its usual breakneck pace, and with the more posed approach, you’re still cutting into someone’s, probably busy, day.

You need to be able to work quickly, without fussing over settings or lens changes or tripping over bags. Keep your equipment as simple as possible—a single camera body and a zoom lens that covers all eventualities. I put a lot of trust in my Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L. It might not have the widest aperture in the world, but I’m happy to trade that for the versatility.

I generally shoot in Aperture Priority as well. So I only really need to think about the depth of field I want in a shot and let the camera’s far superior brain work out the rest of the details for me.

street portrait photography China

One area where you do need to stock up is memory cards. Make sure you have plenty of storage space with you, you’ll be taking a lot of images—especially if you’re heading out for a day of sneaky candid shooting. Throw in a couple of freshly charged batteries as well, just in case.

Conclusion

Like every area of photography, shooting street portraits has challenges all of its own. By far the most difficult thing to overcome is finding the courage to approach your subjects.

The good news is, if you’ve always felt too intimidated to attempt this genre of photography, you’re in esteemed company. Legendary names such as Diane Arbus and Elliott Erwitt have said they’ve used their cameras as both a kind of license to take photos and to act as a barrier between them and their subject. There’s still something mysterious about a camera that intrigues people—even more so these days when most photos are taken on phones.

street portrait photography candid Jerez

All it takes is a little daring, a projected air of confidence, and you can capture some unique moments and great street portraits.

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How to Photograph Hummingbirds

16 Apr

NOTE: Get Jim’s e-book Fundamentals of Photography Made Easy now 30% OFF at Snapndeals, only until April 25th AUS time.


Birds have captivated wildlife photographers from the beginning of photography, and no group of birds is more intriguing than hummingbirds. It’s not difficult at all to photograph a hummingbird when you see one in a garden hovering above a flower. But unless you do it right your efforts will only result in mediocre pictures.

Photograph hummingbirds 02

The challenge with hummingbirds

The challenge itwo-foldld: First, you want the tiny birds to fill a significant part of the frame, and second, you want the birds to be sharp. Blurred wings are fine for snapshooters, but for serious photographers nothing less than tack sharp wings will do.

The wings of hummingbirds beat about 80 times per second. The range of shutter speeds that we normally use for fast moving subjects is between 1/250th and 1/1000th of a second. This is too slow to freeze the wings. 1/2000th and 1/4000th of a second are not even fast enough to get sharp pictures and to reveal the detail in individual feathers. Some cameras go up to 1/8000th, but even if this were fast enough to get tack pictures of hummers, the light would be so reduced that you would be forced to shoot with a large lens aperture and a high ISO – neither of which are ideal solutions.

Add flash

The technique that works is to use flash. However, it’s not very straightforward at all. The typical flash duration (the length of time that the flash tube is actually illuminated during an exposure) is typically about 1/1000th of a second when used on manual. However, when the power output of the flash unit is reduced to 1/16th power, the flash duration becomes much shorter, about 1/16,000th of a second. This is definitely fast enough to freeze the wings of hummingbirds as you can see in these photos.

The setup

The setup I use consists of four elements:

Photograph hummingbirds 03

  1. Four flash units (I use Canon 430EX Speedlites). Two flashes are placed in front of the setup, one on either side. One flash is used as a backlight to give a little separation between the subject and the background, and one flash is placed to illuminate the background. Metal stands support the flash units.
  2. A 24×36″ photographic print of out of focus foliage is placed in the background. I have several different prints that can be easily changed. The large prints are simply clamped to a piece of foam core.
  3. A wireless transmitter sits on top of the camera to trigger the strobes. Units that work well for are the Canon ST-E2 or the Pocket Wizard. For Nikons, the built-in commander mode works.
  4. A flower that can hold the nectar is clamped to a support like a metal stand, the back of a chair, or anything that is sturdy. The same sugar water that is used in hummingbird feeders (the nectar) is placed in the flower using a syringe so the birds hover above the flower to drink.

Shoot in burst mode

At 1/16th power (all the flash units are set to the same power output), the recycle time is very fast – it’s almost instantaneous, in fact. That means I could shoot as rapidly as I can press the shutter. I fire in rapid succession each time a bird comes to feed. It’s impossible to ascertain whether or not the wings are in an attractive position when I snap the shutter, so I have to take a lot of pictures to get a winner.

Photograph hummingbirds 06

Refinements

To vary the exposure for each flash unit, I simply move the flash closer or farther away. Three or four inches makes a significant change in exposure. In this way, I could adjust the lighting ratio based on what I se on the LCD monitor. A handheld light meter is not needed at all.

With two flash units in front of the hummingbirds, you will get two catchlights in their eyes. This is unnatural looking because in nature, there is only one light source, the sun. Therefore, in post-processing, I clone out one of the dots of light using the clone tool or the spot healing brush.

Photograph hummingbirds 04

Note: These photos were taken during a photo tour I led to Costa Rica.


NOTE: Get Jim’s e-book Fundamentals of Photography Made Easy now 30% OFF at Snapndeals, only until April 25th AUS time.

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Steampunk Micro-Home: Mobile Shabby Chic Trailer Rocks Lofty Aesthetic

16 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

Borrowing stylistic details from urban warehouse lofts and rustic rural cabins, this 200-square-foot home manages to look weathered and sophisticated at the same time.

Reclaimed pine and cedar, a gabled roof and various recycled materials make the exterior of this abode look well-worn but welcoming.

Inside, the so-called Earth and Sky Palace feels surprisingly spacious, complete with a queen bed at one end, bathroom at the other and combination living and dining area in between (as well as small loft above).

While metal, glass and wood detailing help the place feel more upscale (while somehow still minimal), small touches like a large bathroom mirror also help the interior feel larger.

Expensive fixtures and finishes help give an impression of something like a mountain resort lodge, dark but rich in detail right down to the fancy shower heads and butcher-block counter tops.

And it isn’t just about the looks: LED track lighting hooked up to dimmers gives users fine-grained control over the atmosphere, as does an app-controlled air conditioning and surround-sound system. Not bad for $ 74,000.

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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Nikon announces midrange D7500 DSLR

15 Apr

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Nikon has announces its midrange D7500 DSLR. While its design has been slightly tweaked, the big story are the features that it’s inherited from the D500. It uses the same 20.9MP APS-C sensor, Expeed 5 processor and 180k-pixel RGB metering sensor, and is capable of 4K video capture.

The D7500 looks a lot like the D7200 that preceded it, though it’s a bit lighter, and the grip has been deepened. Nikon also says that weather-sealing has been improved. While the LCD remains at 3.2″ in size, it’s now tilting and touch-enabled. Something that Nikon has removed is one of the SD card slots; the D7200 had two, the D7500, one. This slot does not support UHS-II media, unlike on the D500. The D7500 includes a new battery, known as the EN-EL15a, but battery life is about 15% lower than on the D7200, at 950 shots per charge.

As mentioned above, it uses the same sensor, image processor and metering system as the D500. The sensor and image processor have allowed the ISO range to be increased by a full stop compared to the D7200, with a native range of 100-51200, which expands to 50-1.64 million. The autofocus module is the same as the D7200, meaning that it has 51 points, 15 of which are cross-type, with the center point sensitive down to -3EV, but now with input from the 90-times higher-res 180k-pixel RGB metering sensor. That means credible face detect AF even in OVF shooting (in Auto area mode), and remarkably precise subject tracking to maintain focus on subjects that move around the frame. For lenses that need micro-adjustment, you can now do that quickly in live view using ‘Auto AF Fine Tune’.

Burst shooting has been noticeably improved, with a top rate of 8 fps (up from 6 fps). The buffer is much deeper, as well, with the D7500 able to take up to 50 14-bit uncompressed Raws in a single burst, rather than 18. Speaking of which, the D7500 has gained the ability to batch process Raw images – handy for when you want to send a bunch of them to your smartphone.

As with the D500, the D7500 can capture UHD 4K video at a bit rate of 144Mbps, albeit with a 1.5x crop (2.25x relative to 35mm full-frame). If you drop down to 1080p you gain 3-axis digital IS and Active D-Lighting, and lose the crop factor. Power Aperture has been added, allowing for more precise control over exposure. Other video-related feature include 4K output over HDMI, a flat picture profile (similar to log gamma), zebra pattern and Auto ISO. As you’d expect, the D7500 has both microphone and headphone jacks.

The D7500 has Nikon’s ‘SnapBridge’ wireless system, that uses Bluetooth for both remote capture and keeping a constant connection plus Wi-Fi for large file transfer. NFC, which was found on the D7200, has been dropped on its replacement.

Nikon will ship the D7500 this summer in two kits: body-only for $ 1249, and $ 1749 with a 18-140mm F3.5-5.6G ED VR lens.

Press Release

THE NEW NIKON D7500: SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE THAT DRIVES THE DESIRE TO CREATE 

Exceptional Speed, Precision and Low-Light Ability Has Never Been as Attainable; The New D7500 Uses the Same Powerful Imaging Sensor and Includes Many Features from Nikon’s DX-Format D500 Flagship

MELVILLE, NY (April 12, 2017 at 12:01 A.M. EDT) — Enthusiasts are a distinct type of photographer, who go to great lengths in the relentless pursuit of the perfect capture. It is for this user that Nikon Inc. announced the D7500 today, an advanced-level DX-format DSLR that provides a robust yet lightweight camera with powerful performance and premium features. Using the same 20.9-megapixel image sensor, processor and wide ISO range as the D500, Nikon’s flagship DX-format DSLR, the D7500 incorporates an exceptional combination of stunning image quality, impressive speed, astounding low-light ability and 4K UHD video capture, yet remains within reach for a diverse array of image makers and creators.

“The Nikon D7500 was engineered to be as versatile as the photographer using it, and excels whether shooting fast-action sports, stunning low-light landscapes, distant wildlife, glamorous portraits or multimedia content,” said Kosuke Kawaura, Director of Marketing and Planning, Nikon Inc. “This is a camera for the photographers who are serious about their passion, infatuated with the next frame and above all else, want speed, small size and an excellent value.”

Balance Image Quality and Low-Light Performance
The new D7500 features Nikon’s latest 20.9-megapixel DX-format imaging sensor and EXPEED 5 processing engine, the same high-performance heart of the Nikon D500. Designed to excel in a wide array of shooting conditions, the D7500 eliminates the optical low-pass filter (OLPF) for maximum sharpness and clarity, with the class-leading dynamic range flexibility that is a hallmark of Nikon DSLRs. The compact DX-format form factor also gives photographers extended focal length reach that is an advantage for sports and wildlife photography, especially when coupled with the vast selection of available NIKKOR lenses. 

Whether shooting a landscape at dawn or sports under indoor lights, the D7500 affords the latitude of low-light capability to consistently nail the shot, time and time again. Even in the most challenging light, users can capture images with minimal noise, thanks to a native ISO range that spans from 100-51,200, and an expanded ISO range up to an astonishing 1.64 million equivalent. Those same stellar image quality and low noise virtues also apply to those shooting video, whether it’s a 4K UHD production or a mesmerizing astro time-lapse of the night sky.

Focus with Precision, Capture with Confidence
The Nikon D7500 DSLR gives photographers many new premium features and advanced Nikon technologies to help create incredible images and video:

  • The D7500 is fast enough to keep pace with the quickest athletes or animals; capable of shooting at up to 8 frames-per-second (fps) with full AF/AE, with an expanded buffer of up to 50 RAW/NEF (14-bit lossless compressed) or 100 JPEG images.
  • Nikon’s proven 51-point AF system covers a large portion of the frame. A Group-Area AF function has been added, which is a preferred focus mode for those shooting fast action.
  • The slim, tilting 3.2” 922K-dot touchscreen LCD can be used to easily control, compose and play back, even while mounted to a tripod. The menus can also be easily navigated using the touchscreen function.
  • Like the Nikon D5 and D500, the 180K RGB Metering system is used with the Advanced Scene Recognition System to help ensure balanced exposures and fantastic color rendition in nearly any shooting situation.
  • Lightweight DX form factor allows for an agile, comfortable body with deep grip and comprehensive weather sealing. The monocoque body is durable and approximately 5% lighter than the D7200 and 16% lighter than the D500.
  • Shoot all day and well into the night with up to approximately 950 shots per charge (CIPA standard).
  • Like the D500 and D5, the Auto AF Fine Tune feature when in Live View allows users to automatically calibrate autofocus with specific lenses if needed.
  • Through the Retouch menu, users can access an in-camera Batch Process RAW Converter that can handle multiple images to optimize workflow.
  • The camera’s pop-up flash can act as a Commander for remote Speedlights, while the camera is also optimized to function with line-of-sight using SB-500, SB-700 and SB-5000. It can even support the radio frequency control system of the SB-5000 when using the optional WR-R10 accessory.
  • New Auto Picture Control function analyzes the picture scene and automatically generates a tone curve within the camera.
  • Images can automatically be downloaded to a compatible smartphone, and the camera can also be triggered remotely using Built-in Bluetooth1 and Wi-Fi2

Multimedia Capabilities for Creators
The Nikon D7500 adds in a diverse array of advanced features for multimedia content creators, including 4K UHD (3840 × 2160/30p) video capture and the ability to produce awe-inspiring 4K UHD time-lapse movies in-camera. Video files can be stored as either MOV files or as MP4 files, for greater flexibility and easier playback on a wide range of devices. Like the D500, the D7500 offers 3-axis built-in e-VR image stabilization when shooting 1080p Full HD video, and can be easily focused using the rear touchscreen function.

For the advanced videographer, the D7500 offers simultaneous 4K UHD output to card and uncompressed via HDMI, as well as a headphone and microphone jack for pro-level audio recording and monitoring. To allow for smooth exposure adjustments, the camera also supports power aperture for smooth and step-less depth-of-field transitions while users can also keep highlights in-check using visible zebra stripes in live-view mode. 

Price and Availability

The Nikon D7500 will be available in Summer 2017 for a suggested retail price (SRP)* of $ 1,249.95 for the body only configuration, or with a AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens for $ 1,749.95 SRP*. For more information on the Nikon D7500 as well as the latest Nikon products, please visit www.nikonusa.com. 

1.The camera’s built-in Bluetooth® capability can only be used to connect the camera to a compatible smart device running the SnapBridge app, and to take advantage of SnapBridge features.

2 This camera’s built-in Wi-Fi® capability can only be used with a compatible iPhone®, iPad®, and/or iPod touch® or smart devices running on the Android™ operating system. The Nikon SnapBridge application must be installed on the device before it can be used with this camera.

  • Using the SnapBridge App System Requirements:
  • Android 5.0 or later or 6.0.1 or later
  • A device with Bluetooth 4.0 or later (i.e., a device that supports Bluetooth Smart Ready/Low Energy) is required.

The SnapBridge app is available for compatible iPhone®, iPad® and/or iPod touch®, and for smart devices running the AndroidTM operating system. The app can be downloaded free of charge from Apple’s App Store® and GooglePlayTM. SnapBridge can be used only with compatible cameras.

*SRP (Suggested Retail Price) listed only as a suggestion. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.

Nikon D7500 specifications

Price
MSRP $ 1299 (body only), $ 1749 with 18-140 VR kit lens
Body type
Body type Mid-size SLR
Sensor
Max resolution 5568 x 3712
Other resolutions 4176 x 2784, 2784 x 1856
Image ratio w:h 3:2
Effective pixels 21 megapixels
Sensor photo detectors 22 megapixels
Sensor size APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm)
Sensor type CMOS
Processor Expeed 5
Image
ISO ISO 100 – 51200 (expandable to 50 – 1640000)
Boosted ISO (minimum) 50
Boosted ISO (maximum) 1640000
White balance presets 12
Custom white balance Yes (5)
Image stabilization Digital only
Image stabilization notes 3-axis Electronic for Full HD and below
Uncompressed format RAW
JPEG quality levels Fine, Normal, Basic
File format
  • JPEG: JPEG-Baseline compliant with fine, normal, or basic compression (Size priority); Optimal quality compression available
  • NEF (RAW): Lossless compressed, compressed 12 or 14 bit
  • NEF (RAW) + JPEG: Single Photograph Recorded in both NEF (RAW) and JPEG Formats
Optics & Focus
Autofocus
  • Contrast Detect (sensor)
  • Phase Detect
  • Multi-area
  • Selective single-point
  • Tracking
  • Single
  • Continuous
  • Face Detection
  • Live View
Autofocus assist lamp Yes
Manual focus Yes
Number of focus points 51
Lens mount Nikon F
Focal length multiplier 1.5×
Screen / viewfinder
Articulated LCD Tilting
Screen size 3.2
Screen dots 922,000
Touch screen Yes
Screen type TFT LCD
Live view Yes
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.94×
Photography features
Minimum shutter speed 30 sec
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000 sec
Exposure modes
  • Aperture Priority
  • Auto
  • Auto (flash off)
  • Manual (M)
  • Programmed auto with flexible program (P)
  • Scene Modes
  • Shutter-Priority
  • User
Scene modes
  • Autumn Colors
  • Beach / Snow
  • Blossom
  • Candlelight
  • Child
  • Close-up
  • Dusk / Dawn
  • Food
  • Landscape
  • Night Landscape
  • Night Portrait
  • Party / Indoor
  • Pet Portrait
  • Portrait
  • Sports
  • Sunset
  • Special Effects Mode
Built-in flash Yes (Pop-up)
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
External flash Yes (Hot-shoe, Wireless plus sync connector)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow sync, Rear curtain
Flash X sync speed 1/250 sec
Drive modes
  • Single-frame
  • Self-timer
  • Quiet continuous
  • Quiet shutter
  • Mirror-up
  • Continuous high
  • Continuous low
Continuous drive 8.0 fps
Self-timer Yes (2, 5, 10 or 20 sec)
Metering modes
  • Multi
  • Center-weighted
  • Highlight-weighted
  • Spot
Exposure compensation ±5 (at 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
AE Bracketing ±5 (2, 3, 5, 7 frames at 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 2/3 EV, 1 EV, 2 EV steps)
WB Bracketing Yes (3 frames in 1-stop increments)
Videography features
Format MPEG-4, H.264
Videography notes Supports MOV and MP4 packages
Modes
  • 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 3840 x 2160 @ 25p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 3840 x 2160 @ 24p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 60p / 48 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 60p / 24 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 50p / 48 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 50p / 24 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 30p / 24 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 30p / 12 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 25p / 24 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 25p / 12 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 24p / 24 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 24p / 12 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1280 x 720 @ 60p / 24 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1280 x 720 @ 60p / 12 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1280 x 720 @ 50p / 24 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1280 x 720 @ 50p / 12 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
Microphone Stereo
Speaker Mono
Storage
Storage types SD/SDHC/SDXC
Connectivity
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI Yes (mini-HDMI)
Microphone port Yes
Headphone port Yes
Wireless Built-In
Wireless notes Wi-Fi with low energy Bluetooth
Remote control Yes (Wired, wireless, smartphone)
Physical
Environmentally sealed Yes
Battery Battery Pack
Battery description EN-EL15a lithium-ion rechargeable battery & charger
Battery Life (CIPA) 950
Weight (inc. batteries) 640 g (1.41 lb / 22.58 oz)
Dimensions 136 x 104 x 73 mm (5.35 x 4.09 x 2.87)
Other features
Orientation sensor Yes
Timelapse recording Yes (4K output)
GPS Optional
GPS notes GP-1A

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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How to Create a Retro Faded Look Using Lightroom or Photoshop

15 Apr

You’ve probably seen images floating around because it’s popular these days, you know, the ones with the retro faded look. It’s pretty popular with the instagram and wedding photography crowd. It’s not my fancy but I am all about empowering photographers to shoot what they have in mind. If that happens to be retro-faded here’s how to achieve that look in Lightroom and Photoshop.

How to Create a Retro Faded Look in Lightroom and Photoshop

Why this look is so popular

Here’s why I believe this look is very popular, it’s a quick and easy way to de-digitalize digital images. When you click that shutter release button, you get a straight, clinical, boring representation of reality. The faded retro look makes the images seem dreamy and ethereal because the colors are muted. Since it’s easy to do and already built into apps like Instagram, you have a recipe for popularity.

How to Create a Retro Faded Look in Lightroom and Photoshop

How to get this look using Lightroom

In Lightroom go ahead and process the image the way you want first. Once you are done, go to the Develop Module and scroll down until you reach the Tone Curves panel. Click the button on the bottom right.

How to Create a Retro Faded Look in Lightroom and Photoshop

First, click the button on the bottom right. Next, click on the little circle on the bottom left of the graph and drag it up. The higher you put it, the more faded the look. Adjust to your tastes and you’re done!

What you are essentially doing is putting a cap on how dark the black pixels will be. Imagine you had 3 groups of students with black, gray, and white shirts. The darkest shirt is black. But if you tell the group of students in black to become grey, the darkest shirt will be grey. It’s the same principle here, you are taking pixels that would normally be black to become dark gray.

How to get this look using Photoshop

In Photoshop the principle is the same. After you have processed the image, go in Image>Adjustments>Levels. You could also alternatively make an adjustment layer to do non-destructive edits by going to Layer>Adjustment Layer>Levels.

How to Create a Retro Faded Look in Lightroom and Photoshop

Drag the black output adjustment to the right to taste and you are done!

Examples

So to recap, take your straight image:

How to Create a Retro Faded Look in Lightroom and Photoshop

Straight original image.

Post-process to taste:

How to Create a Retro Faded Look in Lightroom and Photoshop

Post-processed with basic adjustments.

Then edit the blacks using Levels/Curves:

How to Create a Retro Faded Look in Lightroom and Photoshop

Black level lowered using Levels or Curves.

Further customization

Just like for any new technique, the trick is in experimenting, mixing, and finding your own favorite style. You can add some grain in Lightroom (My favorite, de-facto settings are 50-50-50 for Amount, size, and roughness) but you can also play around with the colors of the photograph for an added effect.

Under the Develop Module, you will find Split Toning in the right-side panel.

How to Create a Retro Faded Look in Lightroom and Photoshop

Split-toning adjustment panel.

The top is where you color the highlights of your image, the saturation controls how strong that color will be. The bottom is where you select the color for your shadows and saturation does the same as above. The Balance slider adjusts which direction you want the colors to lean more toward. If you push that slider to the right, the image will lean more towards the color you have chosen for highlights. If you push the slider left, the overall image will lean more towards the colors selected for the shadows. It’s usually best to keep it at 0 (in the middle) and play around with it after selecting the colors.

Starting points and examples

I personally keep my saturation levels around 10 for Highlights and Shadows because too much saturation will make the image go completely one color. Color images, I find 35 maximum saturation fit my tastes. Here are some results:

How to Create a Retro Faded Look in Lightroom and Photoshop

Playing with split-toning to add to the retro look. Top left is the original faded image.
Top right: Highlights color 299, Saturation at 25, Shadows at 99 and Saturation 31 (Balance at 0)
Bottom right: Highlights color 101, Saturation at 25, Shadows at 47 and Saturation 31 (Balance at 0)
Bottom left: Highlights color 30, Saturation at 25, Shadows at 253 and Saturation 31 (Balance at 0)

Yes, that is indeed how you get a cross-processed look in Lightroom. It fits in well with the overall retro faded look.

Conclusion

That’s it. It’s pretty easy to do if you ask me. It probably takes a bit more time (and you have more control) than using Instagram filters but it’s worth the time to learn if the look resonates with you. You will quickly learn “the numbers” that you like most and be able to be consistent throughout your images. Be yourself, stay focused and keep on shooting.

Please sure your faded retro look images in the comments below and tell us how you achieved it.

The post How to Create a Retro Faded Look Using Lightroom or Photoshop by Olivier Duong appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Light’s L16 camera is in final stages of testing

15 Apr

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Light has been teasing images of its first prototype L16 cameras for a while now. Today, it offered a look inside production of its Design Verification Test cameras as well as a peek at the camera’s current design, as noted by LightRumors. Next month, beta testers will receive pre-release cameras, and emails have gone out to pre-order customers with shipping details. In other words, things are getting real.

Light announced its L16 camera in 2015, presenting a compact camera with 16 lenses using folded optics. Its 16 13MP sensors can be used to create up to a 52MP composite image, and it will offer 28mm, 70mm and 150mm equivalent focal lengths. Light’s website mentions that the camera will go on sale to the general public at the end of 2017.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Hasselblad X1D final production sample gallery

15 Apr

Of the recent digital medium format releases, one could argue the Hasselblad X1D carries the most-revered name. Based around a similar 44 x 33mm sensor found in the Pentax 645Z and Fujifilm GFX-50S, it offers the most ‘portability’ of the three, especially when coupled with its smaller leaf shutter lenses. Does the image quality live up to the name? Check out our samples to find out.

View our Hasselblad X1D sample gallery

View our Hasselblad X1d beta sample gallery

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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