RSS
 

Archive for September, 2019

Video: Cinema5D goes hands-on with Sony’s new full-frame cinema camera, the FX9

16 Sep

Last week, Sony unveiled the FX9. While we were able to get a brief look at the camera in the product shots, our friends over at Cinema5D have gone hands-on with the full-frame E-mount camera.

Throughout the 14-minute video, Nino Leitner of Cinema5D covers nearly every component of the camera. He starts by explaining where exactly the FX9 fits into Sony’s lineup and then dives into all of the new features, including the various sensor modes, the new S-Cinetone Picture Profile, the new dual-base ISO and much more.

Leitner also interviewed Yasuo Ueda-san, head camera designer at Sony, if you want even more insight the FX9 and its development process.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Video: Cinema5D goes hands-on with Sony’s new full-frame cinema camera, the FX9

Posted in Uncategorized

 

9 Great Lensball Perspectives for Creative Photography!

16 Sep

The post 9 Great Lensball Perspectives for Creative Photography! appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

One of the most effective ways of getting more out of your photography is to change the perspective. It’s a great way to explore your camera without needing to get additional equipment. The same concept can be applied to lensball photography, where a change in your lensball perspectives can lead to a burst of creativity with your work. It’s easy to think of lensball photography as a one-trick pony, rather like, say, a fish-eye lens. As any fish-eye lens owner will tell you though, there are plenty of ways to add creativity with that lens, and the same is true of refraction photography with a lensball.

In this article, you’ll learn about nine different lensball perspectives, and how you can go about using them in your photography.

1. The standard lensball perspective

Image: This shows a standard lensball perspective. It shows the tree as the main subject in the ball...

This shows a standard lensball perspective. It shows the tree as the main subject in the ball. There is also context provided by the area outside the ball.

The standard photo might vary from person to person. A lot of people choose the second item on this list, so this is of course subjective. In this type of photo, the lensball will be a significant part of the photo, it will absolutely be the main subject. Where you place the ball and the subject you choose to have within the ball are subjects covered in this article.

Typically the ball will be off-center within the frame, and will fill around forty percent of the photo. The remaining portion of the photo is likely to be the foreground the ball is sitting on, and the background that has been blurred out as part of this photo. This type of photo will be taken using a macro lens, or a lens with a long focal length.

2. The lens ball as part of the scene

lensball-perspectives

The ball can also be used as part of the scene. Here, the interplay with the arch works well.

A popular alternative to the above photo involves bringing the background into play. This style of photo will need a wide-angle lens, so you can get reasonably close to the lensball, while taking a more standard landscape photo. In this photo, the lensball has become more of an accent in the photo, yet it’s still a focal point for the image. You’re looking at using repetition in your image, with the background of your photo appearing inside the ball as an upside-down image.

There are a number of strategies you can use to enhance this type of photo.

  • The tunnel – A classic in photography, this works very well with the lensball as well. Use the infinity point of the tunnel and place the ball at this point in the photo. The tunnel will then frame the photo, and there’s a good chance the image in the ball won’t be noticeably upside down.
  • Holding the ball – Holding the ball while photographing it is a popular form of lensball photography. Using a wide-angle lens will allow you to hold the ball, and include a lot of the background in your frame.
  • Flipping the image – As the background is prominent in your frame, you might want to use post-processing to flip the image within the ball. You can learn how to do this here.

3. Getting closer

Image: In this photo, the lensball fills the frame, and you can barely see the edge of the ball.

In this photo, the lensball fills the frame, and you can barely see the edge of the ball.

Alternatively, you can get much closer to the ball, and use a macro lens for your photo. You will need to scout a good location for this type of image.

In this photo, you’re using the ball much more like an external lens. Through the use of the macro lens, you can get close enough to the ball that you’re only photographing a portion of it. This allows you to use the curve of the ball as a line coming through your frame, with the main subject photographed within the ball. The outside of the ball will be blurred, even with a smaller aperture. With this in mind, keep the aperture to around f/8. This will give you a sharper image inside the ball.

4. Splitting the horizon line

lensball-perspectives

Lines that can be bisected by the ball work especially well.

A great technique to use with the lensball is splitting the horizon.

This works well because of the effect refraction produces. If you line the ball up with the horizon line, the inverted image in the ball will invert along this line. When aiming for this type of photo, it’s important to get the horizon line exactly lined up. Getting this wrong is as bad as not getting your horizon line straight on a regular landscape photo. The following are some ideas that will help you acheive this type of photo.

  • Holding the ball – Holding the ball up to the horizon line with your hand can be effective. It’s tricky to get the exact horizon line. Take multiple photos until you’re happy the horizon line within and outside the ball is lined up.
  • Minimal landscapes – In order to split the horizon line, you need to be able to see the horizon line. Look for coastal, desert or other locations that don’t have objects blocking this line.
  • Use the tripod – With the ball steady on a wall, or perhaps a rock you could use a tripod. With the camera on a tripod, you can make sure the horizon line is lined up. Once you’re ready to take the photo you’ll know this won’t shift as you take the photo.

5. Bending the horizon line

Image: This photo shows the fisheye-like effect of the ball. You can see the horizon line in the bal...

This photo shows the fisheye-like effect of the ball. You can see the horizon line in the ball is bent and distorted.

The lensball’s fisheye-like lens properties can, of course, be used in exactly the same way as a fish-eye lens. You can bend the horizon line in the lensball by raising or lowering it away from the horizon line. This can be used to creative effect with your photo.

If there is a lot of interest in the foreground, you could include more of these within the ball. Equally, if the sky is really dramatic, and you want to include more of that, you can. Simply lower the ball away from the horizon line, and watch the line bend towards the top of the ball, and more sky fill the bottom portion of the ball.

6. Distorting your main subject

Image: This abstract portrait is the result of lensball distortion.

This abstract portrait is the result of lensball distortion.

In addition to bending the horizon line, you can use the lensball to produce other distortions as well. Once again, think of the distortions a fisheye lens can make, and apply that to the lensball. You can use the ball to distort elements of your main subject, providing you can get close to your subject. This works well when the subject is smaller, so this won’t be effective with large architecture.

You can use this distortion to great effect with portrait photography. Here the aim is to distort part of the body, for instance, the eyes, to get a more creative portrait.

7. Photographing down onto the ball

Image: Shooting directly down onto the ball can give interesting results.

Shooting directly down onto the ball can give interesting results.

A simple trick involves photographing down onto the ball.

Place the ball on the ground, and stand over the ball to photograph it. No inverted image will appear in the ball, but you will see a magnified version of what the ball is sat on.

This can work well for surfaces that have a texture. For instance, gritty sand or a pebble beach works well. Those photographers looking to create a series of lensball photos that have variety could attempt this style of photo.

8. A worm’s eye view

lensball-perspectives

The worm’s eye view can work well. Note the ball is placed at the infinity point of the image.

The worm’s eye view means photographing below the ball and looking up. The only realistic way to do this is holding the ball above yourself, or better still, ask someone to hold the ball for you. This will mean a person’s hand will be in the photo, so look to incorporate this into your composition as best you can. Finally, you’ll need to find an interesting subject to photograph.

The following are some subjects that work well for this angle.

  • Tall buildings – When close together these can form a tunnel-like look when looking straight up. Place the ball at the infinity point of this, and take your photo.
  • Repetition – When you’re standing under something like a roof of repeating umbrella’s or lanterns, you can use the lensball to capture this.
  • Dramatic sky – Sky photos can work well if the sky is interesting enough. This type of photo will be more interesting with a strong subject.

9. Reflection

Image: Reflection works very well in lensball photography.

Reflection works very well in lensball photography.

Photos that involve reflection will give you a strong composition. Of course, you need to use the right angle to maximize this reflection. In this case, your perspective will be as low to the angle as you can get.

However, there are scenarios where you can get great reflection photos without the need to get on all fours. In both of these cases, use a circular polarizing filter to increase the strength of the reflection.

  • Ball on reflection surface – In this case, you’ll need to get a low angle, so you’ll be on the floor. Marble surfaces or a puddle will work well here. Your aim is to reflect the ball itself in the puddle.
  • Ball in front of reflection surface – In this case, you’ll see a reflection surface like a large pond. It’s obviously too large to place the ball into it, but you can still capture the reflection. The ball needs to be placed or held in a position near to the reflection surface. Now within the ball, you’ll see both the reflected and the actual image. These images will both be refracted, so the reflected image will be the one that appears the right way up.

Creativity is in your hands

A change of perspective is a great creative option for every photographer and can lead to some really compelling results. The lensball, when thought of as an external lens, is a great creative tool. When used properly, it is capable of creating a great series of photos under the one theme.

So if you have a lensball, you can go out and try some of these ideas. If you don’t have one, why not get hold of one?!

Finally, we love to see your photos at digital photography school, so why not share some in the comments section below?

 

lensball-perspectives-for-creative-photography

The post 9 Great Lensball Perspectives for Creative Photography! appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on 9 Great Lensball Perspectives for Creative Photography!

Posted in Photography

 

Useful Ways You Can Use the Olympus Live Composite Feature for Long Exposures

16 Sep

The post Useful Ways You Can Use the Olympus Live Composite Feature for Long Exposures appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mark C Hughes.

Olympus has a number of unusual features for longer exposure photography. Aside from the classic bulb style photography, there are two other specific long exposure features available with Olympus cameras: Live Time and Live Composite. These two functions, although related, treat longer exposures quite differently and can produce quite interesting results. Both are really fascinating tools for photographers looking to experiment. Both use computational features of your camera to allow you to get an image in a different way. Although we will briefly discuss Live Time, this article primarily focuses on the Olympus Live Composite feature.

olympus-live-composite-feature

The Live Composite feature on Olympus Cameras lets you mix light sources for long exposure

Live Time

Live Time is like the bulb function on old film cameras that held the shutter open as long as the bulb was depressed but with a twist. With modern cameras, you open the shutter by pressing once and then close it by pressing it a second time. As with any bulb function, you end up holding the shutter open for as long as you want but without a set time on the camera.

In the film days, you would just guess how long you wanted (or use a light meter and a stopwatch). With most digital cameras, there is a function to allow you to hold the shutter open for an extended time. However, for many makes of cameras, you won’t see the image until the camera has closed the shutter, taken a noise reduction image, and then processed the image.

Live Time in Olympus cameras is a little different. It allows you to see the image on your display developing during the process while the shutter remains open. As the exposure lengthens, you see the image form as more and more light gets added to the entire image. The image gets brighter on the back panel, and it is really cool to see the image created live.

This process allows you to decide when you have held the shutter open long enough. Like the old bulb settings, you decide how long the image progresses. You press to start the exposure and press to stop.

Image: Long Exposure images simply mean that light sources get brighter

Long Exposure images simply mean that light sources get brighter

Fundamentally, Live Time is just a manually extended exposure time that allows you to watch the image develop as you take it. It is still a pretty cool feature.

Problems with long exposure photography

The trouble with Live Time (and any long exposure image with any camera for that matter), is that bright things get brighter faster than the dark areas.

This means that dim, infrequent events in lower light environments with some point sources of light will be overwhelmed by the point sources. When you have enough light to expose the dark areas properly, this usually means that the lit areas have far too much accumulated light. Everything in the frame gets treated the same.

Image: A still Image of a fire provides lots of detail and freezes the action of the flames.

A still Image of a fire provides lots of detail and freezes the action of the flames.

olympus-live-composite-feature

Long Exposures tend to smear the light as the light sources persist.

Enter Live Composite

Live Composite is a particularly unique feature present in Olympus cameras that is not currently offered by other camera makers at this time.

Live Composite is similar to Live Time, in that you are taking a longer exposure image, but Live Composite is just light additive for new sources of light, not existing sources. What this means is that Live Composite takes a base image and then only adds new light to the image that was not present in the original base image. This means that light sources seen in the original reference image do not get brighter. Only new lighting or new light sources that move in the frame will appear in the final image.

olympus-live-composite-feature

Live Composite of a campfire shows that the entire image is not getting brighter

The mechanics of Live Composite

Using Live Composite is a two-step process; first, it requires you to take a base or reference image exposure. This image forms the base layer of the composite image. Then you take subsequent additional images at intervals with only new light in the field of view added.

This allows you to take a static image of a colorful background under low light conditions and add only new light sources.

Just like Live Time, you get to watch the image develop right before your eyes.

olympus-live-composite-feature

After the base image is taken, only new light sources (such as a lightning bolt) show up

How to use It

Turning on Live Composite on your Olympus camera is not the most prominent process. It is a bit hidden. Live Composite is a type of manual mode setting, so that is where you find it on the camera.

However, before you use Live Composite, you need to decide a few key parameters for your base composite image – specifically initial shutter duration, ISO and aperture.

You set the shutter time duration in the menu (out of the function itself) before setting the camera to shoot. However, you set the ISO and aperture as you go.

Useful Ways You Can Use the Olympus Live Composite Feature for Long Exposures

Turning on Live Composite varies a little between cameras (the EM1X does it slightly differently), but for most Olympus cameras, you simply set the mode selector dial to Manual (M) and adjust the time to beyond the 60-second shutter duration. At that point, you get a Bulb, LiveTime, and then LiveComp setting. LiveComp is the one you want for Live Composite. On the EM1X, you set the mode selector dial to B (bulb) and then turn to LiveComp. Everything else is the same.

At this point in time, you set your ISO and Aperture. This, combined with the shutter time duration you set in the menu system for cycling the images, will be used to set your base composite image. For instance, if you set the shutter timing to 4 seconds, plan on using an aperture of f/4 and ISO of 800. You will use those values for the base reference composite image.

To activate Live Composite, set up your composition, focus your lens, and then press the shutter for the reference image. The composite is now ready to start.

Next, when you press your shutter button again, the image creating process begins! The camera will open the shutter and add to the image as each time period compares to the base image. Any new light gets added to the composite at the end of each cycle. The image changes and grows on your display as Live Composite progresses.

It is very cool to watch as your image develops.

Does Live Composite mean you can take images that you couldn’t before?

Image: Lightning storms work incredibly well with Live Composite, especially if there is a lot of ne...

Lightning storms work incredibly well with Live Composite, especially if there is a lot of nearby light sources (such as streetlights)

Yes and no. You could take the images separately and combine them as a composite, but as a single image, you would not have been able to do it. Also, there are certain types of images that are way easier to take with the Live Composite function than would be possible to achieve in a single image.

Live Composite also forces you to change your approach to certain images. As part of that change, it may actually take longer to take some images (because you need to create a base/reference every time), but you get the benefit of seeing if it is doing what you want.

What kind of image works well with Live Composite?

Several specific types of images can get the full benefit of Live Composite. These include star trails, lightning flashes, fireworks, night photography with bright lights present, and light painting.

You can take all of these in other ways, but using live composite allows you to see if the image is turning out how you want.

Most of these images all require manual focus and manual settings for your exposures. All require some trial and error and pretty much all benefit from the use of a tripod. In theory, you might be able to take these images without one, but in reality, the requirement to be steady really limits those cases.

Star Trails

In astrophotography, taking an image of stars can be particularly daunting. This is because the earth is rotating and the stars are relatively dim. What this means is that you need a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the motion of the star but also need to leave the shutter open long enough for the start to appear on your image. If you leave the shutter open too long, you will see a streak or smear instead of a star. If you leave the shutter open even longer, the stars leave even longer trails that are circular. In the northern hemisphere, these star trails appear to rotate around the North Star.

Image: Star trails occur when you take astrophotography shots and leave the shutter open for an exte...

Star trails occur when you take astrophotography shots and leave the shutter open for an extended period of time. The stars create a trail. This image was taken with the shutter open for 27 minutes

With conventional digital cameras (or film cameras for that matter), working at night can be a challenge. The shutter duration required to create star trails are long, and you can’t see what your image is like until you’ve completed the entire exposure duration. In addition, if you have made an error in focus or composition, you won’t see it until the entire process is complete. There are ways to combine star trails together in post-processing, but the Live Composite allows you to do it in a single exposure.

With Live Composite, you can see the image develop. Particularly with star trails, this allows you to quickly figure out if you want to have your image in a different setup or use a different point of interest so that the star trails work with your composition.

You also have the ability to have star trails show up when there is an illuminated object in the foreground.

Lightning

Another significant challenge for photography is capturing images of lightning, particularly in areas where there are light sources. As anyone who has attempted to take lightning images knows all too well, this is a difficult type of photography.

olympus-live-composite-feature

Lightning strike captured using the Olympus Live Composite Feature.

The main difficulties of capturing lightning images are fourfold. Lightning is difficult to schedule, so you have to wait to find a storm to photograph. Depending upon your position relative to the storm, you need to find a vantage point to capture images that are reasonably clear (you need to be able to see the lightning from a distance) and have a perspective that forms a reasonable composition. More common vantage points are across a field, across a valley or from highrise building.

Next, you need to hope the lightning is not blocked or shrouded by rain (a common companion to lightning). This will interfere with your sightlines. Lighting is often at leading and trailing edges of storms, but if you are at the wrong end, the lightning will simply light up the sky.

Finally, taking images at night always presents a problem for trying to achieve focus. Focusing in the dark means that you can’t see what you are focusing on and the light from the lightning hasn’t lit up your subject yet.

If you have the right conditions, you can take the base image and wait for the lightning strike and the image to develop. You just wait until lightning strikes in the field of view.

For a detailed guide on photographing lightning, see this Ultimate Guide to Photographing Lightning.

Fireworks

Fireworks is an interesting subject for live composite. It actually isn’t faster to take images, but I think it takes better images. Fireworks requires you to manually focus where you think the images are, set the time, aperture, and ISO for a darker setting than your camera will want, then wait.

Image: Fireworks also work well, although it is a two-step process for every image.

Fireworks also work well, although it is a two-step process for every image.

Without Live Composite, you simply open the shutter and wait. The image gets brighter, and the duration is based upon a little trial and error.

With Live Composite, you take the reference image and then wait. When the fireworks start, you hold the shutter and watch the screen. You press the shutter when you have the image you want.

Unfortunately, you need to take a new reference image each time, so you end up with additional steps. However, the results are at least as good (and often better) as simply guessing an exposure time.

Night photography with bright lights and light painting

olympus-live-composite-feature

Capturing car tail lights and headlights will appear but the street lights don’t get overly bright

Night photography featuring bright lights, such as carnivals or street performers using fire at night, can turn out really well with Live Composite. So can images where lights are moving, but you don’t want the background to get brighter.

You can also use Live Composite for light painting. This is particularly useful if you have someone helping you when you are taking a light painting image.

Light painting is a technique for taking an image under low light conditions with a long exposure and lighting up the object with controlled use of flashes or light sources. The neat thing about using Live Composite for light painting is that you can have light in the image when you are taking the image with the light painting because only new light gets added. It also means that dark objects won’t show up, and the bright surfaces behind them will remain illuminated.

Image: Live composite allows you to do light painting with light sources present in the image (not t...

Live composite allows you to do light painting with light sources present in the image (not the greatest light painting image!)

Conclusion

Live Composite is a unique feature in Olympus cameras that allow you to make composite images in-camera that previously would only be able to be created with two separate images and a bunch of post-processing. It is another useful tool for your photography kit.

olympus-live-composite-feature

The Olympus Live Composite feature is a unique tool to allow you to be creative with low light images.

Have you used Olympus Live Composite Feature before? What are your thoughts? Share with us in the comments!

 

olympus-live-composite-feature

The post Useful Ways You Can Use the Olympus Live Composite Feature for Long Exposures appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mark C Hughes.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Useful Ways You Can Use the Olympus Live Composite Feature for Long Exposures

Posted in Photography

 

ACDSee Video Studio 4 Review – An Intuitive, Easy-to-Use Video Editing Software

16 Sep

The post ACDSee Video Studio 4 Review – An Intuitive, Easy-to-Use Video Editing Software appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Carl Spring.

In this review, we take a look at the new video-editing software – ACDSee Video Studio 4.

Video is something that, as photographers, we seem to be delving into more and more. Whether that be capturing behind the scenes of photoshoots to create marketing material or simply a video of your photo adventures with friends, video is something many of us are either doing or may want to do. However, it’s not always as easy as that.

Image: Video Studio 4 is great for editing short clips for social media or uploading to YouTube. It...

Video Studio 4 is great for editing short clips for social media or uploading to YouTube. It will not, however, enhance your skills in front of the camera, as you will see later in this review!

The main problem with video content isn’t necessarily shooting the video, but the editing process. I am sure some of you have lots of video footage that you always intend to make into a video (as I have), but it never gets made. You start with good intentions, but the editing always seems to be the sticking point. For those who don’t edit very often or are new to video, editing can be hard and so much software lacks user-friendliness.

Video software usually comes with a steep learning curve too. Those that many consider the standard, Premiere and Final Cut, aren’t particularly user-friendly to the novice user. You will end up spending hours of your time watching YouTube videos to simply understand the basics of how to create a simple edit for either of those pieces of software.

ACDSee has set out to change that. With their latest software, Video Studio 4, you get powerful video editing built into a software that is intuitive and simple to use.

Opening it up

When you launch the software, the layout you see may resemble others. However, with ACDSee Video Studio 4, this layout is streamlined, and the most useful stuff is there, ready and waiting.

On the left side, there are 10 different options for you to work with. They are laid out in a way that guides you through the process of editing from start to finish.

Let’s go through them to see how you can use each one.

The left panel

Media

Video Studio 4 accepts a wide variety of formats for audio, video, and images. These are:

  • Image formats: JPG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG, HEIC
  • Audio formats: WMA, MP3, AAC, WAV, AC3, OGG, M4A
  • Video formats: AVI, MP4, WMV, FLV, MOV, TS, MTS, M2TS, ASF, M4V, MPG, MPEG

As you can see, the software can handle pretty much any format you want to use. It is great to see such a wide range of options available. It means you don’t need to worry about converting files before editing.

Image: Here is a variety of a png, JPEGs and HEVC iPhone footage. ACDSee Video Studio 4 handled them...

Here is a variety of a png, JPEGs and HEVC iPhone footage. ACDSee Video Studio 4 handled them flawlessly.

Captions

Adding in titles and captions is simple and easy. A wide variety of fonts and placement options means you can create a title for your videos quickly.

Image: There are several different styles to work with when it comes to adding titles and captions.

There are several different styles to work with when it comes to adding titles and captions.

Audio Recorder

If you make videos, sooner or later you will find yourself in a situation where you need to record a voiceover. With ACDSee Video Studio 4, you can record audio directly into the software, thus, keeping everything together. This means you don’t have to move between programs to record extra audio. A really fantastic little tool that you may not think is useful – until you need it.

Transitions

With 30 different transitions to choose from, you can easily apply transitions between video clips. Tweaking these to your desired length is simply a matter of dragging them onto the timeline. Some are cheesy, some are incredibly cheesy, but you have options. I am a simple “fade” guy, but if you want something different, you will definitely find it here.

Image: Whilst there are several to choose from, I rarely tend to look past a “fade” or...

Whilst there are several to choose from, I rarely tend to look past a “fade” or “fade to black” transition. If you do, there are several options.

Audio Effects

Adding fade in and outs to your audio tracks is simple and easy too. You can do it manually, but by using the presets and then tweaking to get the desired effect, you can really save some time. You’ll also get your content created much quicker and easier than ever.

Image: It is easy to add fade in and outs with audio in the program.

It is easy to add fade in and outs with audio in the program.

Animations

New in this version of ACDSee Video Studio 4 is the ability to use keyframes to make custom animations. This allows you to create bespoke animations for your clips, which is great when using a still image in your video.

There are also some great presets to use as starting points, which you can fine-tune to get your clips just how you want them.

Image: You can start with one of the inbuilt animations or start from scratch.

You can start with one of the inbuilt animations or start from scratch.

Behavior

Behaviors are customizable entrance and exit effects. You can use these on a clip to really emphasize the clips’ start and end. Simply tweak each effect to customize it to your taste.

I really didn’t see where I would use this, and it feels a little gimmicky. This is a feature most people will not use too often, but in the right hands, I am sure you can do something cool with it.

Filters 

ACDSee Video Studio 4 gives you many filter options to tweak the look of your clip. When applied, these filters tweak things like the clips color, and exposure. There are also several creative effects for quick and easy effects for your footage.

There are several options to explore here. Which ones you choose depends on your taste and preference, but there is something to please most people here. You will no doubt find your favorites when you have used the software a few times, and these will become your go-to filters.

You can add multiple filters should you need or want to. They stack on top of each other in the clip, and you can edit them individually.

Image: This shows the exposure filter in action. It worked well on a clip that was underexposed. The...

This shows the exposure filter in action. It worked well on a clip that was underexposed. There are many others – some good, some that you probably won’t use.

Overlays

Overlays are effects that sit on top of your clips. Some of these, such as the animated hearts and bubbles, are an acquired taste and most of you probably won’t touch them (but will no doubt serve a great purpose for the young generation). However, light leaks and film scratches can give a great effect, depending on the look you are going for with your project.

Image: You can add filters to give your footage a certain look. Some are a little cheesy IMHO, but t...

You can add filters to give your footage a certain look. Some are a little cheesy IMHO, but there are some really nice ones, such as old film, which I used here.

Advanced Effects

This is where the software gets seriously impressive. Here you will find some features most commonly found in high-end editing software, yet they come with the ease and simplicity of use that makes Video Studio 4 so user-friendly.

Starting with one of the new features in Video Studio 4 is Remove Color. This is most commonly used for green screen work. This allows you to shoot against a green screen (or other color backgrounds) and remove it from the clip. You can then add in a background of your choice. This is great for YouTube videos, where you can buy a cheap green screen (or even use a green sheet) and then add in a background you created in Photoshop or similar. It can give you a host of creative options, is incredibly simple to use, and really powerful.

A new cool feature is Color LUTS. These allow you to add a variety of different color grade options to your footage to enhance their look.

Another new addition allows you to adjust the speed of your footage. You can create time effects such as slow-motion, or speed up the timing of your clip.

The last new addition is Mosaic, which is great to blur out items in clips, such as car number plates. This can then be sized and tweaked to match your clip. Again this is one of those tools that you probably won’t use very often, but when you do need it, you will be glad the software includes this handy tool.

Image: You can add LUTS to color your footage. Start with a preset or upload your own. For the short...

You can add LUTS to color your footage. Start with a preset or upload your own. For the short video I created, I used Tinsel.

Using ACDSEE Video Studio 4

It’s one thing to list all the features of a software, but it is another thing entirely to put it in practice. With this in mind, I put a few things together in ACDSee Video Studio 4.

The first project involved taking a couple of clips from a photoshoot on my iPhone and making them into a quick clip for Instagram. I also wanted to try out the screen recording software that comes with Video Studio 4 so I used this to make a quick tutorial on creating custom animations in the software.

Lastly, I wanted to test one of the key new features, Remove Color.

Green screen test

As this was one of the new features of the software, I was keen to test it out. However, rather than test this with a perfectly lit green screen, I tested it in a more common situation. At first, I tried against a blue block wall, not expecting it to work at all.

Then I used a green screen I borrowed from a friend. Now, this is by no means a high-end green screen. In fact, one of the stands fell to pieces when we were putting it up and had to be held together with tape! I also didn’t iron the green material (as you can see in the clip). It was a very cheap eBay purchase, but it is the type of setup the most people will use when starting with a green screen, so I wanted to see the results.

I used no specialist lighting in the setup either. Again, with the right type of equipment, this is super easy, both for the editor and the software. But, I wanted to push it a little…

Here are the results:

?

As you can see, the software worked pretty well on the green screen (just a slight issue with the reflection in my glasses) and surprisingly well on the blue wall, even if it didn’t manage to get it quite perfect. I think that a simple, smooth painted wall, with decent natural light, would work perfectly well for this type of work. Moreover, with an ideal studio lighting setup, it would work great.

The tutorial video

ACDSee Video Studio 4 also comes with software that allows you to record your screen, which I wanted to test to create a simple instructional video. As I am reviewing the software, I decided to make a quick tutorial on creating a logo animation. I simply selected the inbuilt Mic and Webcam and hit the record button.

When you have finished recording your footage, it drops it directly into Video Studio 4 ready to edit. Editing is then simple.

Here is the result:

?

If you are looking to get into creating tutorial videos for your photography, or tutorials for any software, Video Studio 4 is great. 

The Insta edit

What I see as the biggest possible use of this software is for quick, simple edits for Instagram. This software is perfect for that purpose –one of those situations where you just want to put a few clips together and make an edit as quickly as possible.

In this example, I had three phone clips I wanted to use. I also had my logo and background I created in Photoshop. With all I needed ready to go, I jumped into Video Studio 4 for the first time.

It is super simple to use, and within minutes I had a completed video.

The first thing I wanted to do was to create a quick intro using my logo. I saved my logo as a .png file so that I could keep the background transparent so it would work with layers. Then I placed both the background and the logo into the software. To add some animation, I used the custom animation feature in Video Studio 4. By dragging and dropping this onto the logo, I was able to quickly add two 360-degree motions to the logo to add interest.

It was easier than I imagined. Within 20 seconds, I had my animated logo.

Then I added transitions to the start and end of the clip as well as adding an old film overlay. That was it. One minute and I had a finished animated logo. If I wanted to, I could export this clip and use it in all future videos as an intro. That saves even more time when creating clips like this.

Next, I needed to insert my clips. Again, it was simply a matter of drag and dropping them to get them onto the timeline. To trim the clips to the required length, you have two options:

  • drag the ends of the clip to where you want them, or
  • split the clip where you want the edit and delete the part that you want to trim.

I found this splitting quicker, and this is what I did for the rest of the clip.

With my clips trimmed, I also needed to remove the audio. There are two ways you can do this: Method one is to adjust the sound level of the clip by right-clicking on it and selecting Edit Audio. This is great when you want to adjust the sound levels of a clip. In this case, however, I didn’t need the audio at all, so split the clip into separate audio and video tracks. This way, I was able to delete the audio from the clip quite simply.

Image: You can either edit the audio level of clips or split the audio, which is what I did here. As...

You can either edit the audio level of clips or split the audio, which is what I did here. As I didn’t need sound, I simply deleted the audio from the clips.

I then added transitions between clips. While there are loads to choose from, you will probably find yourself going back to a select few. In my case, I have always tended to use Fade to Black or Cross Fade (called Fade in Video Studio 4).

For the last stage, I easily added a LUT to the footage. There are several LUTs in Video Studio 4, or you can upload them into the software. I decided to use the Tinsel LUT, which adds a color grade to the footage.

Adding music

When I watched the footage back, I decided I wanted to add some music.  I used a track by A Himitsu, the details of which are as follows:

Adventures by A Himitsu, Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 

Music released by Argofox Music provided by Audio Library

Once I had the music in, I wanted to move my edits a little to match the music. Even though I had LUTs applied and fades in place, this was easy, and there was no lag when dragging clips around. The software felt speedy throughout using it, which was reassuring. With the music added, and clips altered, I just needed to add an audio transition to fade the music out, which I then tweaked until I was happy with it.

All complete, it was time to export my project. You can see the final edit below.

Export

Exporting is quick and easy and helped by Video Studio 4 holding your hand through the process. You can export and save to a file, or you can upload directly to YouTube or Vimeo. Just log in to YouTube and follow the instructions. In terms of time, the software exported quickly, and I didn’t notice a difference in export times compared to using other editing software.

You can also export to an animated gif, which is ideal for things like action sports clips.

As you can probably guess, the theme of simple and easy continues here. Video Studio 4 guides you through things in the beginning while allowing you the ability to be more creative as your confidence grows.

Image: Video Studio 4 guides you through the export process. You can export to file or upload direct...

Video Studio 4 guides you through the export process. You can export to file or upload directly to YouTube, which is what I did. It was simple and worked perfectly.

Support

ACDSee has some great training videos for their software on their website. For those of you new to video editing, these are well worth a watch to get you started with Video Studio 4. I am sure that more will be added over time, but they have everything you need to get started. There is also great technical support should you have any other issues.

Below is an example of their training videos with Director of Photography, Alex Watson. Before anyone says it in the comments, I know his delivery is a little better than mine.

Who is this software for?

If you use Premiere or Final Cut, you will have more than likely not even made it this far. It is not as fully featured as these programs and is in no way a replacement, but that is not the purpose of this software.

ACDSee Video Studio 4 is for those who are new to video editing or who just want to create quality content without having to spend large amounts of time learning to use software.

While Video Studio 4 is incredibly user-friendly for the beginner, it also contains many features for those wanting to delve deeper and use more advanced features such as the green screen.

In a nutshell, the aim of Video Studio 4 is to create professional videos quickly and easily for those new to video. It does this impressively well.
It is really competitively priced, and for those who are new to video and use PC, I can’t think of a better alternative.

Final thoughts

ACDSee Video Studio 4 is a simple to use, yet surprisingly powerful video editor. It is not a replacement for Premiere, nor is it intended to be. There are some really powerful features in here, but it also contains some stuff that I would personally never use. For example, some of the fades and overlays feel cheesy and overdone. Then again, as a teen starting out with video editing, these will more than likely be fun, and I am sure they will get used in creative ways. Maybe it’s more me being an old stick in the mud for the classics?

If you have been thinking about adding video to what you do, I would recommend you try Video Studio 4. This is simple to do as ACDSee have a free trial, allowing you to try before you buy. When it comes to purchasing, you also have options. You can purchase the software outright, or you can get it as part of the ACDSee 365 plan, which also includes ACDSee’s Photo Studio software for a simple monthly payment.

ACDSee is known for offering alternative software that is feature-packed, simple to use, with a great price tag. With Video Studio 4, ACDSee has definitely cemented that reputation.

ACDSee is a paid partner of dPS.

The post ACDSee Video Studio 4 Review – An Intuitive, Easy-to-Use Video Editing Software appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Carl Spring.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on ACDSee Video Studio 4 Review – An Intuitive, Easy-to-Use Video Editing Software

Posted in Photography

 

Google Camera app 7.0 leak reveals new Pixel 4 camera features

16 Sep

A leaked version of the Google Camera app 7.0, which will likely be installed on the upcoming Google Pixel 4 device, has made its way into the hands of the people at XDA Developers who have analyzed the code and found a bunch of new camera features to look forward to.

The new camera will likely come with a motion blur mode that lets you capture moving subjects in the foreground and blur the background to emphasize the impression of motion and speed. The feature, which should come in handy at racing or sports events, will likely be called Motion Mode.

A section of code inside the Google Camera 7.0 app that hints at the upcoming Motion Mode.

The app source code also suggests that the computational photography feature Night Sight will be improved on the Google Pixel 4, likely with the previously leaked astrophotography mode. The Night Sight feature will also be sped up by making use of zero shutter lag technology and for astrophotography Google will be using the chipset’s integrated GPU to accelerate segmentation of the sky as well as identifying and brightening stars.

References to Live HDR and HDRNet in the code hint at HDR rendering in the preview image and it also looks like the the Pixel 4 will come with an audio zoom feature, similar to what Apple has implemented on the iPhone 11 and what LG and HTC have been using for some time now. The feature allows the phone to focus its microphones on a major audio source when zooming the camera.

Code from within the Google Camera 7.0 app that references Live HDR settings, as well as mesh warp settings, presumably used in conjunction with depth data.

Other sections in the source code indicate that the Pixel 4 and other compatible Pixel devices will support saving depth data as a Dynamic Depth Format (DDF) file which should allow for re-focusing and other depth modifications in any app that supports the format.

Further improvements could include an updated version of the Photobooth feature which was introduced with the Pixel 3 and automatically takes photos when it detects smiles or funny faces in the frame, integration of an augmented reality measurement app into the Camera app, and a ‘rewind’ feature, the exact function of which is as yet unknown.

Google Pixel have traditionally been at the forefront of mobile imaging and it looks like the Pixel 4 will be no different. We’ll know more in October when the new device is expected to launch.

Image credits: Screenshots used with permission from XDA Developers

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Google Camera app 7.0 leak reveals new Pixel 4 camera features

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Landscape photography with a drone – part 1: What is a drone?

15 Sep

Ever since I started shooting landscapes, I’ve been fascinated with aerials. There’s little doubt that aerial photography offers a very different perspective on a landscape, not to mention the excitement one experiences when witnessing nature from a bird’s eye viewpoint.

I have written extensively about the good and the bad, as well as the reasons for shooting aerials in the first article of my series about aerial photography. But drone photography is VERY different to being up there in an aircraft and shooting with a hand-held camera.

Drones have utterly changed the world of landscape photography, and are the best thing to happen to it in the last two decades

There are substantial advantages and disadvantages when comparing the two, and one could even claim they are two different disciplines altogether. After all, apart from the fact that in both the photographer is shooting from the air, there is much more difference than similarity. This provides justification for an additional series that deals with drone photography.

In this series, I will try to elaborate about shooting (natural) landscapes using a drone. I will claim that drones have utterly changed the world of landscape photography, and are the best thing to happen to it in the last two decades. I will show examples from my shoots around the world and discuss how the drone enabled me to get images otherwise impossible.

I’ll try my best to survey the different options available today, and try to cover the legal and moral aspects, as well as etiquette. Finally, I will tell about some interesting personal experiences I’ve had while droning.

It’s important to say that I’m a nature still-photographer, so I will concentrate on that most of the time. That said, there is no reason why the series shouldn’t be relevant for other styles and fields of photography such as urban landscapes or even wildlife photography.

So, what is a drone anyway?

“Drone” is the common name for a remotely-operated or autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). There are many different drone sizes and designs – some are fixed-wing and some rotor-based. Fixed-wing drones are often used for scientific or military purposes. Since they require short runways to take off, and since they lack the maneuverability of rotor-based craft (specifically the ability to hover in one place and to move very slowly), they aren’t commonly used for photography purposes, and so I will not be discussing them here.

The Mavic Air – a quad-copter drone manufactured by the Chinese company DJI

The drones we are interested in – camera drones – are rotor-based. The vast majority of those are quad-copters (i.e. mini-helicopters with 4 propellers), but not all. There are hexa-copters (6-prop) and octo-copters (8-prop) out there as well. They are sometimes known as VTOL drones, for “Vertical Take-Off and Landing”. As we will see, the VTOL property offers a critical advantage for nature photography, or any field-based photography for that matter.

Design

Drones are typically made from composite materials to reduce weight and to absorb vibrations, which in turn reduces noise and motion blur in images. They have several motors and propellers, most commonly one propeller on top of each motor (but some drones have dual propellers for each motor). On a quad-copter, two of the propellers rotate clockwise and the other two counter-clockwise.

The motors are controlled by the drone’s flight controller, which uses, among other things, gyro stabilization technology and accelerometers to maintain control of the drone in real time, and to keep it flying smoothly and steadily. All this is powered by a battery, which is usually inserted to a cavity in the body of the drone.

Controlling a drone with the remote’s 2 joysticks

The drone carries a camera, usually on the front or bottom of the drone’s body. The vast majority of modern drones have an integrated (native) cameras, whereas in the past more drones were designed to carry a separate camera system, be it a small camera like a GoPro or a large DSLR (or even larger systems). A native camera, naturally, allows for much more user control in real time.

The camera, native or otherwise, is mostly mounted on a 3-axis stabilizing gimbal, which disconnects it from any vibration or sudden movements coming from the drone’s main body and allows the camera to move independently from it.

The small camera mounted on a 3-axis gimbal in the first generation of the DJI Mavic

Control

Virtually all camera drones have a ground controller unit (commonly known as a remote controller), which allows the user to control the movement of the aircraft and of the gimbal, and enables live first-person-view (FPV), i.e. video streaming from the drone’s camera and shown on a screen, either integrated into the controller or of a mobile device (such as a smart phone or a tablet), typically connected to the controller via wire.

The video stream doesn’t only show the drone camera’s view, but it also includes important flight information such as a map, flight altitude, speed, distance from the control unit, battery status and more. Using the information sent from the drone, the controller can also warn the user in case of strong winds or nearby obstacles.

The video feed received on a smart phone through cable connection to the remote. Note how height (relative to point of origin), distance from origin and velocity are displayed at he bottom, and photographic parameters at the top.

Everything here serves the purpose of being able to control the drone as delicately and as accurately as possible, and to not rely on seeing the aircraft from the operator’s ground position. As we will see in future articles, FPV is a large part of what gives a drone its overwhelming advantages compared to other kinds of photography.

A Short Survey: Types of Camera Drones

Camera drones are plentiful, with the Chinese company DJI dominating the market without a doubt. It is, however, possible to divide the drone world into several tiers, which differ in the technology featured in the drone, specifically it’s camera and sensor, gimbal, battery, controls, weight and size, among others. Let’s shortly survey the different tiers, and see what differentiates them.

Fun and Toy Drones

  • DJI Tello (about $ 100)
  • Parrot Mambo (about $ 50).

These drones have a simple built-in camera with very low resolution. There is no stabilizer (gimbal). The devices are very sensitive in the wind and usually have no GPS function, making it very difficult to get good flight precision and decent pictures. They are, however, very affordable and fun to use.

Entry-level Drones

  • DJI Spark (discontinued, to be replaced soon)
  • Parrot Anafi (about $ 650)
The tiny DJI Spark can fit in the palm of your hand.

These drones feature better control and stability than toy drones, but don’t expect any miracles in terms of image quality and stabilization. The mechanical two-axis gimbal requires shorter exposure times to prevent camera shake. Range and duration of flight are below average.

Semi-professional Drones

  • DJI Mavic Air (about $ 750, $ 930 for a combo including extra batteries, props, carrying case and more)
  • DJI Mavic Pro (about $ 930 for a combo)
  • DJI Mavic 2 Zoom ($ 1240, $ 1590 for a combo)
  • DJI Mavic 2 Pro ($ 1500, $ 1800 for a combo)

Drones in this category feature an electric three-axis gimbal, at least 12 megapixel photo resolution, long exposure abilities (and the stability to make them practical) and 4K videos. The Mavic Air may be limited in range, as WiFi in city centers may be more susceptible to interference than the “Pro” Series transmission technologies.

The DJI Phantom series is much larger than the Mavic Air, and packs a better camera.

The equally affordable Mavic Pro has a long flight time, but only a 1/2.3-inch sensor, while the top model Mavic 2 Pro with a 1-inch sensor expects. Not only does it deliver a higher resolution (20 megapixels instead of 12), it also exhibits significantly improved noise performance in the low light range.

Rather an exotic animal in the line-up is the Mavic 2 Zoom. Also equipped with only a 1/2.3-inch sensor, it has a 2x optical zoom, which enables it to get different perspectives for a given framing (perspective depends on subject distance), and even a very cool aerial mode called Dolly Zoom. With the exception of Spark, all these models are compact and easy to transport. The Mavic 2 Pro offers the maximum picture quality among these and is very portable, making it the current go-to drone for many photographers, your truly included.

Professional Drones

  • DJI Inspire 2 Pro (theoretically starting from $ 2800 but with a better sensor and exchangeable lenses it’s more like $ 6400 and upward)
  • DJI Matrice (from $ 6340 with a gimbal, not including a camera)
  • FreeFly Alta 8 (from $ 18500)

Drones in this category have different camera options with interchangeable optics. From the integrated gimbal with Super 35-millimeter sensor (Zenmuse X7 to Inspire 2) to the digital film camera (Arri Alexa Mini to FreeFly Alta), almost everything is possible here for money. The take-off weights of these devices start at approx. 4 kilograms, which considerably increases the administrative effort. The design allows the camera to move independently under the drone at a 360 degree angle. These drones are often controlled by at least two-person teams and are suitable for professional film productions.

What’s Next?

Now we know, more or less, how a camera drone is built and how its parts are connected. We know that today’s camera drones are mostly quad-copters, with native stabilized cameras mounted on a gimbal. But what can these aircraft do? Why choose a drone over a helicopter or a plane? How has the drone changed the world of landscape photography? I will cover all this next.

Erez Marom is a professional nature photographer, photography guide and traveler based in Israel. You can follow Erez’s work on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to his mailing list for updates.

If you’d like to experience and shoot some of the most fascinating landscapes on earth with Erez as your guide, take a look at his unique photography workshops in The Lofoten Islands, Greenland, Namibia, the Argentinean Puna, the Faroe Islands and Ethiopia.

Erez offers video tutorials discussing his images and explaining how he achieved them.

Selected Articles by Erez Marom:

  • Parallelism in Landscape Photography
  • Winds of Change: Shooting changing landscapes
  • Behind the Shot: Dark Matter
  • On the Importance of Naming Images
  • On Causality in Landscape Photography
  • Shooting K?lauea Volcano, Part 1: How to melt a drone
  • The Art of the Unforeground
  • Whatever it Doesn’t Take
  • Almost human: photographing critically endangered mountain gorillas

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Landscape photography with a drone – part 1: What is a drone?

Posted in Uncategorized

 

7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide)

15 Sep

The post 7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

How do you achieve stunning black and white photography?

stunning-black-and-white-photography

Black and white photography is one of the most intimidating genres out there, mostly because it’s associated with lots of established names, as well as the “fine art photography” label.

But here’s the thing:

Black and white photography isn’t actually difficult. In fact, it’s just like any other genre of photography: There are a few tips and tricks that, once you apply them to your shooting process, will instantly improve your black and white photos.

And that’s what this article is all about. I’m going to share with you seven tips for stunning black and white photography. And you’ll come away with the ability to take masterful black and white photos wherever you go.

Sound good?

Let’s dive right in:

1. Shoot in high-contrast light for the most impactful photos

Here is the number one thing you need to remember about black and white photography:

It’s all about the contrast.

In fact, if that’s all you take away from this article then you’ll have profited enormously, because contrast is the lifeblood of black and white photography.

7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide)

Now, there are a number of ways to create contrast in your photos. And I’ll explore these different techniques below.

So let’s start at the very beginning:

With light.

If you can’t make the light work for you, your black and white photos are just going to look like a muddy mess. Instead, you need to recognize the type of light you’re working with, and you need to try to use that light to achieve as much contrast as possible.

The best light for black and white photography is (no surprise!) high-contrast light. More specifically, light on sunny days.

If you’ve explored other genres of photography, you’ll know that light on sunny days is harsh, it’s unpleasant, and it just doesn’t look good.

Unless you’re a black and white photographer.

7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide)

Because bright, sunny light enhances dark tones and creates intense light tones. This looks amazing in black and white photos, and it’ll really take your black and white images to the next level.

If you want to do some shooting but end up with softer golden tones from later in the afternoon or early in the morning, you can try using heavy backlighting to create additional contrast.

2. Find contrast-heavy tones and put them together

You already know about the importance of contrast in black and white photography. And you know about the importance of using contrast-heavy light.

But even once you’ve got the best light, you still have to make sure that the tones of your photo lend themselves to the overall black and white look.

7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide)

Now, the best black and white tones are very dark and very light. For instance, a great black and white might include a white sky and a dark house, or a bright character standing in front of a black building.

So when you’re out and about, look for tones that contrast. Try not to think in terms of colors, because the colors will just distract you. Instead, think about the relative brightness of tones.

And look for blacks and whites that go together.

stunning-black-and-white-photography

Once you’ve found them, however, you’re going to need to follow a piece of compositional advice:

3. Simplify your black and white photos as much as possible

All photography, for the most part, benefits from a simple composition.

However, black and white images benefit from a simple composition the most. This is because black and white photography is meant to be simple. It has no complex colors. No chaotic color-contrasts.

Instead, it’s just…black and white.

7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide)

So whenever you go to take your black and white shots, stop and think. Consider whether there are ways to simplify the shot.

Could you remove something distracting in the background? Could you use a wide aperture to make the background blur more? Could you change your angle so as to create a more non-distracting option!

Do anything you can to make your shot simple.

Simpler is better, all else being equal.

4. Try to capture raw emotion for compelling black and white photography

Here’s one of the great things about black and white photography:

It’s a genre that loves to capture emotion.

The smile of a person on the street. The laugh of a person crossing the road. The frown of a sad child.

stunning-black-and-white-photography

These are all very photographable moments, moments that you shouldn’t miss out on. And black and white is the perfect way to record it.

In fact, I recommend you try to capture emotion with black and white photography. The somber look of a high-contrast black and white will take emotion and make it even more powerful in a photo. It might even give you a three-dimensional effect.

5. Use minimalism to make your compositions stand out

What is minimalism?

Minimalism is a compositional technique that emphasizes intense simplicity. And not the simplicity as I explained above, but a true, deep simplicity – one that’s built into the composition.

Let me explain:

Minimalism uses lots of white space to draw attention to your main subject. White space is just empty space in a photo. (It doesn’t have to be white – it can just easily be gray or black, as long as there’s nothing going on in that part of the image).

This is a minimalistic photo:

7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide)

Minimalistic photography uses the weight of negative space to emphasize your subject. So you don’t have to be afraid of photos that are extremely minimalistic. And they’re pretty easy to pull off.

To create minimalist black and white photos, I recommend you find a background that’s smooth and pure, such as a white sky. Then place your main subject small in the frame, along one of the rule of thirds power points (or even just above or below the power point).

If all goes according to plan, then you should have a beautiful minimalistic photo! Don’t be afraid to play with the placement of your subject.

7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide)

6. Shoot against the sky to achieve a silhouetted look

In the previous tip, I mentioned that a white sky makes for a nice minimalistic background.

And it’s true. A bright white sky can be used in a black and white photo to emphasize a darker subject, which is exactly what you want to do! When the sky’s especially bright, you might even produce a partial silhouette, where the main subject has no detail but stands out against a white background.

So here’s how it works:

Find the main subject. It can be any color, but darker tones work best.

7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide)

Then get down low, so that the main subject is framed by the sky. If you’re shooting on a cloudy day, you’ll have plenty of bright light behind your subject (even if it doesn’t seem like it). If you’re shooting on a sunny day, a bright part of a blue sky should do the trick.

Experiment with different possible angles, while making sure that your main subject doesn’t overlap with anything around it or behind it.

7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide)

Then experiment with different exposures. Take a few shots that are drastically underexposed, a few shots that are nicely exposed for the subject, and a few shots that are overexposed.

Eventually, you’ll find a technique you’ll like!

7. Shoot in color, then use post-processing to convert your photos

I’ve been talking all about capturing amazing black and white photos in-camera.

But a big part of the black and white photography process is the post-processing. After all, this is where you should be converting your color images to black and white shots!

When you first open your photos in an editing program, they may look bland. They might even look a little bad.

stunning-black-and-white-photography

But don’t worry. Because here’s what you do:

First, you drop the saturation all the way down, until it’s completely gone. This should give you a photo that’s full of grays.

Then you lift the contrast so that contrast shines through, and makes the photo pop off the page.

I also recommend boosting the Whites and lowering the shadows. This will add further contrast to the photo. It also ensures a greater tonal range overall, which looks quite good!

Conclusion

If you’re looking to create stunning black and white photography, then you’ve come to the right place.

You hopefully now know all about black and white photography.

All that’s left…

…is to get out and start doing some shooting of your own. Amazing photos await!

stunning-black-and-white-photography

The post 7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on 7 Tips for Stunning Black and White Photography (Comprehensive Guide)

Posted in Photography

 

Blackmagic RAW 1.5 adds Adobe and Avid support, two new Blackmagic Video Assist 12G units also announced

15 Sep

Blackmagic has announced a number of new products and updates at IBC 2019, but two particular announcements stand out: the introduction of Blackmagic RAW 1.5 and the Blackmagic Video Assist 12G.

Blackmagic RAW 1.5 is a new software update that adds support, via plug-ins, for working with Blackmagic RAW video files directly inside Adobe Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer, negating the need to transcode files and rely on proxies to edit footage. The update also includes a new version of Blackmagic RAW Speed test that’s compatible with Linux and Windows computer; until now, it was only available for macOS.

The Blackmagic RAW 1.5 update is currently available to download from Blackmagic’s website (under the ‘Latest Downloads’ section halfway down on the page)

Blackmagic also announced the Blackmagic Video Assist 12G, an update to its Video Assist 4K monitor-recorder that includes a brighter HDR screen, built-in scopes, 12G-SDI connectivity and support for recording to external disks over USB-C.

The Blackmagic Video Assist 12G is offered in 5in and 7in models, both of which feature 2500 nit touchscreen LCD displays with wide color gamuts to show Rec. 2020 and Rec 709 colorspaces. Both models include 12G-SDI connections, analog inputs for audio, USB-C external disk recording, dual battery slots for Sony L-Series batteries and headphone output for monitoring audio. Other features include four built-in scopes, tally indicators, enhanced focus assist features and 3D LUTS.

The only difference between the units, aside from size, is the 7in model features dual UHS-II SD card slots, compared to the single SD card slot on the 5in model. These SD card slots are hot-swappable, meaning you can remove and add storage even while recording, making it possible to shoot longer videos without the need to stop and start.

Connections on the device include two S12G-SDI ports, two HDMI ports, two Mini XLR inputs, a USB-C port on the base and a locking 12V DC power connection.

The 5in and 7in Blackmagic Video Assist 12G units will be available in September 2019 for $ 495 and $ 795, respectively, from authorized resellers.

Press releases:

Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic RAW 1.5

IBC 2019, Amsterdam, Netherlands – September 13, 2019 – Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic RAW 1.5 a new software update with support for Adobe Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer, plus Blackmagic RAW Speed test for Mac, PC and Linux, so customers can work on a wider range of platforms and editing software with their Blackmagic RAW files. Blackmagic RAW 1.5 is available for download now from the Blackmagic Design web site.

Blackmagic RAW 1.5 will be demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design IBC 2019 booth #7.B45.

The new Blackmagic RAW 1.5 update includes Blackmagic RAW Speed Test which is now available on Windows and Linux for the first time. Blackmagic RAW Speed Test is a CPU and GPU benchmarking tool for testing the speed of decoding full resolution Blackmagic RAW frames on their system. Multiple CPU cores and GPUs are automatically detected and used during the test so that customers get accurate and realistic results. Simply select Blackmagic RAW constant bitrate 3:1, 5:1, 8:1 or 12:1 and the desired resolution to perform the test. Results are displayed in an easy to read table that shows how many frames per second the computer can decode for all supported resolutions.

Editors working in Adobe Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer can now work with Blackmagic RAW files using the free plug-ins found in Blackmagic RAW 1.5. These new plug-ins enable editors to work with Blackmagic RAW directly, so they no longer have to transcode files. That means camera original Blackmagic RAW files can be used throughout the entire workflow. There is no longer a need to create proxy files and conform edits for finishing. These plug-ins bring the quality of RAW in small, modern, GPU and CPU accelerated files that are faster and easier to work with than any other video format.

Best of all, when projects are moved from Premiere Pro or Media Composer into DaVinci Resolve for color correction and finishing, all of the camera RAW metadata and image quality is still there.

“Blackmagic RAW is now available for editors working on all major professional NLEs,” said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. “It’s exciting because you can now edit native Blackmagic RAW files in Premiere Pro and Media Composer and then finish them in DaVinci Resolve without needing to create proxy files, all without ever losing quality!”

Blackmagic RAW 1.5 Features

  • Includes Blackmagic RAW Speed Test for Mac, Windows and Linux.
  • Adds support for Adobe Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer.
  • Performance improvements and minor bug fixes.

Availability and Price

Blackmagic RAW 1.5 is available now for download from the Blackmagic Design web site.

Blackmagic Design Announces New Blackmagic Video Assist 12G

IBC 2019, Amsterdam, Netherlands – Friday, 13 September 2019 – Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic Video Assist 12G which are new models of the company’s popular combined monitoring and recording solutions. These new models feature brighter HDR screens, built-in scopes, upgraded batteries, 12G-SDI and much more. Blackmagic Video Assist 12G will be available in September 2019 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide from US$ 795.

The new Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR adds professional monitoring and recording to any SDI or HDMI camera in all HD, Ultra HD, 2K and 4K DCI formats. The new improved design includes innovations such as brighter screens for HDR work, tally indicator, 4 built-in scopes, enhanced focus assist features, 3D LUTs and native Blackmagic RAW recording from supported cameras. With 12G-SDI and HDMI 2.0 on both 5″ and 7″ models, customers get support for recording from virtually any device in all formats up to 2160p60. A brighter touch screen ensures a better view of their recording when shooting HDR digital film, or when shooting outdoors in sunlight. The new design also features upgraded batteries and supports two standard Sony L-Series batteries. This means Blackmagic Video Assist 12G is incredibly versatile and is the perfect solution for the next generation of digital cinema shoots, live production mastering, broadcast testing and measurement.

There are two models of Blackmagic Video Assist 12G, with each model including an innovative touch screen user interface with deck controls, as well as a large screen to view recordings. The Blackmagic Video Assist 7″ 12G model also includes 2 media slots, while both the 5″ and 7″ models include 12G-SDI for high frame rate Ultra HD, analog inputs for audio, USB-C external disk recording, plus a front panel speaker and side-mounted headphone jack. Customers also get 2 rear battery slots for mounting Sony L-Series batteries, so customers have enough power for the brighter HDR screens and higher speed Ultra HD electronics. A 12v universal power supply is included for studio or on-location use.

Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR is an ideal upgrade for cameras, as it’s super bright 2500nit display is bigger than the tiny displays found on consumer cameras, plus users are also adding professional focus assist features and better quality file formats. Video Assist is also a great solution for professional cameras because customers can use it to upgrade older broadcast cameras to modern file formats used on the latest editing software. No matter what editing software customers use, Video Assist lets customers support them all, as customers can record in Apple ProRes, Avid DNx and Blackmagic RAW. With both HDMI and 12G-SDI inputs customers can connect it to any consumer camera, broadcast camera or even DSLR cameras. Then, on supported cameras, customers can even upgrade to RAW style workflows with Blackmagic RAW.

The innovative touchscreen LCD user interface provides incredible control. On-screen, there are dedicated buttons for play, stop and record, plus a mini timeline for scrolling through their recordings. Customers can even image swipe to jog. The LCD includes a heads up display of timecode, video standard, media status as well as audio meters. Scopes can be enabled via the touch screen as well as focus and exposure assist. Plus customers can load and save 3D LUTs.

Video Assist uses commonly available SD card media, so customers can record to flash memory cards that are easy to obtain. The files are small enough to allow long recordings on standard SD cards or the faster UHS-II cards. The larger Video Assist 12G 7″ model even includes 2 SD card slots so customers can swap out any full cards even during recording, allowing infinite length recording. Standard SD cards or the faster UHS-II cards are perfect for broadcast because they are small, high speed and affordable.

If recording to other media types is required, then the USB-C Expansion port lets customers plug in an external flash disk for recording. Imagine adding a Blackmagic MultiDock 10G for easy SSD compatibility with other recorders such as Blackmagic HyperDeck models. Customers even get on-screen menus for managing external disks using the touch screen.

Video Assist features a wide range of video and audio connections such as multi-rate 12G-SDI for SD, HD, and Ultra HD SDI devices. HDMI is included for HDMI cameras and monitoring to consumer televisions and video projectors. The 7-inch model features Mini XLR inputs which are provided for audio input from microphones and external audio mixers. Video Assist even includes a 12V DC power connection with locking power connector.

Customers will be ready for the latest HDR workflows with support for the latest HDR standards and an extremely bright screen with a wide color gamut. Plus the high brightness screen makes outdoor shooting in bright sunlight possible. The built-in scopes even change to HDR scopes when working in HDR formats. Files are tagged with the correct HDR information then SDI and HDMI inputs will also automatically detect HDR video standards. Static metadata PQ and HLG formats are handled according to the ST2084 standard. The bright LCD has a wider color gamut so it can handle both Rec. 2020 and Rec. 709 colorspaces. The built-in Video Assist LCD color gamut can even handle 100% of the DCI-P3 format.

Video Assist features full internal waveform monitoring so customers can ensure compliance to broadcast standards and it also works great as a portable waveform monitoring solution. The waveform display provides a traditional luminance (brightness) levels view of the video inputs or the playback signal. The vectorscope display allows customers to see the intensity of color at 100% SDI reference levels. Customers also get an RGB parade display which is ideal for color correction and checking for illegal levels. Histogram shows the distribution of white to black detail in their images and highlights or shadows clipping. The built in scopes can even be overlaid on live video, or as a small picture in picture view at the top right of the scope.

The SDI and HDMI connections are multi-rate, so handle SD, HD, and Ultra HD. SD formats include NTSC and PAL. 720p HD standards include 720p50 and 59.94p. 1080i HD interlaced formats include 1080i50 and 59.94. 1080p HD formats include 1080p23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60p. Customers can even do 1080 PsF formats. Ultra HD is supported up to 2160p59.94. Customers can even record 2K and 4K DCI rates up to 25p for digital film work.

Video Assist works with industry-standard 17 and 33 point 3D LUT files, or customers can work with the built-in LUTs such as Extended Video, Film to Video, Film to Rec.2020 and more.

Video Assist records using standard open file formats so customers don’t have to waste time transcoding media. Recording works in industry-standard 10-bit ProRes or DNx files in all formats and from all HDMI or SDI cameras, as well as 12-bit Blackmagic RAW when connected to supported cameras. Best of all media files work on all operating systems.

Blackmagic RAW is a revolutionary new format designed to capture and preserve the quality of the sensor data from cameras. Video Assist supports Blackmagic RAW recording from popular cameras such as Panasonic EVA1 and Canon C300 MK II. This eliminates the problems with popular camera formats such as H.264, which are highly compressed resulting in noise and processing artifacts. It also saves camera settings as metadata so customers can set ISO, white balance and exposure, then override them later while editing, all without any loss of quality. Blackmagic RAW files are also small and fast to use making them easy to work with.

Blackmagic Video Assist 12G includes a built-in professional audio recorder that’s much better quality than the audio quality found in most cameras, eliminating the need to carry around extra audio equipment. When working in SDI formats, customers can record 2, 4, 8 or 16 channels of audio in real-time. For connecting microphones the Video Assist 7″ model has two XLR analog audio inputs with phantom power that support the high definition audio sample rate of 192 kHz at uncompressed 16 and 24 bit per sample. Customers can monitor using on-screen audio meters with user-selectable VU or PPM ballistics.

Multiple languages are fully supported so customers don’t need to learn another language to use it. Support is included for English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Italian, Portuguese and Turkish.

The files from Blackmagic Video Assist 12G are common and are compatible with all operating systems or in most video software. Media can be formatted using ExFAT or HFS+ so customers can easily access the media on computers and access the files like regular disks. DaVinci Resolve is perfect for use with Video Assist because it features editing, color correction, audio post-production and visual effects all in one software application.

“The original Blackmagic Video Assist monitors and recorders were very popular and a fantastic way to upgrade older cameras, as well as for use in general broadcast areas of the television industry,” said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. “These new models are an incredible improvement and incorporate all the lessons we have learnt from our customers in Hollywood. They have brighter LCD screens, 12G-SDI, Blackmagic RAW, better focus assist tools, presets, 3D LUTS and much more! They are so nice and it’s very exciting!”

Blackmagic Video Assist 12G Features

  • Supports live production, digital signage and archive use.
  • Modern design with fast to use touch screen controls.
  • Upgrades cameras to better monitoring and better record codecs.
  • Large LCD screen for digital film style focus assist tools.
  • SD/USH-II card support for commonly available media.
  • Records direct to external USB-C media disks.
  • 12G-SDI and HDMI for recording in SD, HD and Ultra HD.
  • Advanced HDR support with bright 2500nits wide gamut LCD.
  • Built in scopes include waveform, vector, parade and histogram.
  • Latest Multi Rate 12G-SDI technology for SD, HD and Ultra HD.
  • 3D LUTs can be applied for both monitoring and recording.
  • Standard open file formats compatible with popular software.
  • Records Blackmagic RAW from supported third party cameras.
  • Professional multi channel digital and analog audio.
  • Localized for 11 popular international languages.
  • Works with popular NLE software such as DaVinci Resolve.

Availability and Price

Blackmagic Video Assist 12G will be available in September 2019 from US$ 795, excluding duties, from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Blackmagic RAW 1.5 adds Adobe and Avid support, two new Blackmagic Video Assist 12G units also announced

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Photoshop vs Lightroom – the Power of Photoshop

14 Sep

The post Photoshop vs Lightroom – the Power of Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this video from Nick Page, he Looks at Photoshop vs Lightroom and shows some things that Photoshop can do that Lightroom cannot.

In this tutorial, Nick covers the following using landscape photos as examples:

  • How to use the Quick Selection Tool to select skies against difficult backgrounds so that you can change things like exposure, and contrast more selectively.
  • How to use the Select and Mask tool to refine selections.
  • Applying the selection as a new layer mask.
  • How to fade your opacity levels of your selection.
  • Using the Hue/Saturation adjustment.
  • How to focus stack using layers, and Auto Align and Auto Blend Layers features.
  • Using Exposure Blend and feathered brushes for realism in your photograph.
  • A handy shortcut to create a white layer mask rather that a black one.
  • How to use Levels Adjustment to alter your image contrast.

 

Do you use Lightroom, or Photoshop? Or both in conjunction with one another? Let us know in the comments.

 

You may also find the following helpful:

  • How to Make a Cool Double Exposure Effect Using Photoshop
  • How to Make an Awesome Pop-Up Card with your Photos
  • How to Change a Background in Photoshop for Still Life or Food Photography
  • How to Make an Animated GIF in Photoshop
  • How to Create Custom Brushes in Photoshop
  • Photo Editing: When Does it Get to be too Much?

The post Photoshop vs Lightroom – the Power of Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Photoshop vs Lightroom – the Power of Photoshop

Posted in Photography

 

Canon EOS M6 Mark II sample gallery (DPReview TV)

14 Sep

$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_2004444276″,”galleryId”:”2004444276″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”isMobile”:false}) });

A new gallery from the Canon EOS M6 II, shot by Chris and Jordan while filming this week’s episode of DPReview TV. As usual, it comes complete with reflected images in puddles.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Canon EOS M6 Mark II sample gallery (DPReview TV)

Posted in Uncategorized

 
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »