The new owners of the Meyer Optik G?rlitz lens brand say they’ve completely redesigned the optical designs and much of the mechanics of the Trioplan 100mm f2.8 lens so it produces better resolution and contrast while controlling internal reflections more effectively.
Famous for its soap-bubble bokeh the original Trioplan 100 was recreated in 2015 by a company called net SE that eventually went bankrupt taking customer’s pre-order money with it. The new owners, Optical Precision Components, has produced its lenses up-front and has just started shipping them.
A OPC Optics spokesperson told us the Mk ll lens has a completely new optical construction and many newly designed mechanical parts inside too. ‘As we are an optics company, rather than a marketing company, we have the know-how and equipment to analyze and optimize optical systems in-house’, the spokesperson tells us. ‘This led us to completely redesign the optical construction of the Trioplan 100, as we especially wanted to improve its resolution and contrast performance.’
According to the spokesperson, ‘the new optical design meant we needed to use different glasses and differently shaped elements, which in turn required a lot of mechanical changes. We prioritized the optics first and everything else is built around that new design.’
The spokesperson further elaborated on the differences between the two lenses, saying (edited for clarity and brevity):
‘All the parts inside and outside the lens have been produced completely new, but some retain the same design as those used in the Mk I version. As we have changed the shape of the main elements in the design and changed the distance of the elements from the aperture, we also needed to redesign the mounts that hold the elements in place [and change] the way the aperture unit works, as in the Mk l version it had no hard stops when it closed or opened completely. That caused damage to the aperture, as the blades could get bent when the aperture ring was turned to its full extent. Our Mk II the aperture has hard stops, so you can turn the aperture ring and really hit against the end without damaging anything. Overall we changed many small things to produce a lens of much higher quality and to make the focusing smoother, but most important are the changes to the lens elements and those main mechanical parts that increase durability.’
As with the original model, this new version uses just three elements in its construction, and a newer 15-blade aperture diaphragm helps to form the characteristic round out-of-focus highlights in the background. The soap bubble effect is often enhanced through the use of macro extension tubes to bring the minimum focus closer and thus exaggerate the size of the bubbles. The lens is manual focus only and takes a 52mm filter.
OPC Optics says it has also redesigned the rest of the Trioplan series as well as its Primoplan lenses. Again, in these models the aim is to improve resolution, contrast and to reduce flare while building a more durable construction.
The Meyer Optik G?rlitz Trioplan 100 f2.8 ll is available in mounts for Canon EF, Fujifilm X, Leica L, Leica M, M42, MFT, Nikon F, Pentax K and Sony E cameras. It costs €999 (approx. $ 1100) and is shipping now. For more information see the Meyer Optik G?rlitz website.
The zoom performance of smartphone cameras has improved dramatically in the last couple of years or but still lags behind conventional cameras, despite dedicated tele lenses pretty much being the norm on high-end smartphones these days. It’s fair to say that overall, zooming on a smartphone camera is at this point still a bit of a compromise, but that could soon change, though.
Chinese camera module supplier O-Film has demonstrated a periscope-style smartphone lens that provides an optical zoom range of 85-170mm (35mm equivalent). This, in theory, should provide a more consistent image quality across the zoom range than current models.
Most tele cameras inside flagship smartphones provide magnification factors between 3x and 10x compared to the primary camera, but speaking about ‘zoom’ factors in this context is slightly misleading. In most instances, the tele camera use lenses with a fixed focal length and computational methods are used to deliver the stated zoom ratios.
At intermediate zoom settings between primary and tele cameras most models use digital zoom/cropping and other computational imaging methods that combine image data from both cameras to create an output image. This Samsung system illustrated in the video below is a good example:
In practice, this means that if you want the best possible image quality you will have to shoot at the native focal lengths of either the primary or tele camera. At intermediate settings your images will, at least under close inspection, almost certainly show a loss of detail and/or a range of fusion artifacts. For example, on some models the level of detail at the center of the frame is high because this portion of the image is captured with the tele camera. Often a lack of detail is visible towards the edges, though, as these areas of the frame are ‘filled’ with digitally zoomed image data from the primary camera.
O-Film’s solution should avoid these kind of image quality inconsistencies by providing optical zoom across the entire range of focal length from 85-170mm (35mm equivalent). The module’s aperture ranges from f/3.1 at the wide end to f/5.1 at the maximum tele setting, which is pretty much in line with the apertures on most fixed-focal-length tele cameras. At only 5.9mm the module is also impressively thin which means it should fit into the sleek form factors of most current flagship devices.
The zoom range of the O-Film module is roughly equivalent to a 3-7x zoom factor but the company claims it can also provide 3-5x, 5-8x and 3.5-9.5x variants.
Like other periscope style lenses with a fixed focal length, such as the one found in Oppo’s 5x camera module, the O-Film module uses an optically-stabilized prism to divert incoming light onto the image sensor. What’s different in O-Line’s module is a piezoelectric motor that drives a module with three lens groups to adapt the focal length. The autofocus mechanism moves with the lens elements.
If the new system works as advertised in the near future image quality on smartphones could be much more consistent across the zoom range than it is now, offering greater flexibility to mobile photographers. Unfortunately, there is no word yet on when we might see the zoom in a production smartphone.
The post 8 Tips for Editing Stock Photos so they Pass Inspection appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
Editing stock photos requires a little more attention to detail than you otherwise might give your photos. Stock photo agencies have standards to meet and rules to follow. If you want your photos accepted into their libraries, you must adhere to them.
You may have applied to a stock photo agency in the past and had your imaged rejected because they were not up to scratch. Each stock photo agency has its guidelines for what is acceptable and what is not. Learning what these are can save you a lot of wasted effort and time.
It’s easier than ever to upload to stock photo agencies
Over the years micro-stock photography requirements for image editing have shifted somewhat.
Camera technology has improved, so there are fewer imperfections caused in images when you take them. With the increase in megapixels and image quality, there’s less need for as much post-processing now.
With more and more stock photography sites coming online over the years, standards are not so tough as they used to be. Newer, smaller agencies want to attract photographers. Not being so strict on image quality makes it easier to meet requirements. Image libraries are populated more quickly because there are fewer rejections.
As stock photo libraries contain millions of photos, the parameters for what style of photo is accepted has changed. Many photo sales sites will accept photos for editorial licensing, whereas in the past most did not.
From one agency to another, the quality and style of photos they accept differ. In this article, I’ll go over some of the most common things to look for in your photos that might hinder them from being accepted.
When I started learning about stock photography, there were fewer agencies, and their quality standards were much higher. It was more challenging to have your photos accepted into the best agencies. And, when you had been welcomed as a contributor, you could not let your standards drop.
Each submitted photograph gets thoroughly checked. The team of inspectors works with a list of parameters and standards. Every photo must meet these before it’s included in the stock library. In some cases, inspectors will offer you feedback. There can be a provision made to resubmit rejected photos once they are fixed. But not all stock agencies do this. Sometimes if your photos are rejected, there is no opportunity to fix them and resubmit.
Learning to meet the standards will help you improve your image editing skills. The bar may not be so high anymore, but it’s always best to aim to present the highest quality possible.
Some of the most common things stock photography inspectors look for in photos that will get them rejected are:
Before you start editing, you can do a lot to ensure your photos will get accepted. For more of your photos to pass inspection, you need to think like a stock photographer as you are taking your photos.
1. Set your exposure well
Keep in mind the importance of attaining a good exposure. This is far more desirable than correcting your exposure during post-production. Start editing stock photos that are poorly exposed and you’ll run into other problems.
When your exposure is poor, correcting it during post-production can result in artifacts in your image. This is when the digital integrity of the image starts to break down. Stock agency photo inspectors usually reject photos with artifacts.
Modern cameras have an incredible capacity to take photos in low light. Raising your ISO too high can create an unacceptable amount of digital noise.
Cleaning up the noise is often not at all difficult. With the correct balance of noise reduction slider, you can eliminate it.
When you’ve used a high ISO setting, make sure you zoom into 100% and take a look at the level of digital noise. You may not see it clearly unless you enlarge your photo. Using the appropriate sliders, you will be able to reduce it significantly.
Chromatic aberration is sometimes called purple fringing. It’s a fault in digital images caused by contrast in a scene. When you’re editing stock photos, you must look carefully for this problem.
Check along the edges of objects in your photos where there’s a contrast with the background. When you notice a band of color along the edge you will need to correct this. The color is usually magenta or green. Sometimes it can be blue or yellow.
Most popular image processing software now has dedicated tools for eliminating this problem.
4. Clone out sensor spots and other blemishes
Sensor spots look ugly in photos. It’s best to keep your camera sensor clean, but this is not always possible. Other dust and blemishes also need to be removed so you can upload the cleanest photos possible.
Using clone tools is often the best way to clean these blemishes from your photos. Again, zoom into 100% so you can see these spots easily. Work methodically over the whole photo to make sure you don’t miss any.
Sensor spots are usually visible against a clear space in your photos. They are likely to show up in large areas of sky, snow, or other similar elements containing little or no detail.
Buildings, lamp posts, horizons, and other elements must look properly aligned. If you’ve taken your photo with your camera on a bit of an angle, the vertical and horizontal lines will not appear natural.
Cropping your photos, so elements in them are aligned correctly, will help them pass inspection.
6. Correct your white balance
Most of the time, I have my camera set to auto white balance. This produces the correct color in my photos most of the time. When the color in your photos looks odd, it must be tweaked so it looks natural.
Having your camera set to save RAW files makes all aspects of post-processing easier, especially color correction. If you have photos where the color looks too cool or too warm, use the eyedropper tool or color correction sliders to help you achieve the natural color.
7. Remove all copyrighted elements when you are editing stock photos
This is the most frustrating aspect of stock photography for many people. So many things are copyrighted and branded. It’s best to avoid anything with a logo or branding when you are taking your photos. Sometimes you can’t, so you need to remove any instances of copyrighted material from your images.
If you are only uploading your images to sell under an editorial license, the requirements for copyright are different. You’ll need to check the terms and conditions for each stock photo agency as they differ from one to another.
Sometimes copyrighted material is in plain sight. Branding on a coffee cup. An outdoor advertising banner. Logos on shoes and clothing. All these are unacceptable when submitting photos to royalty-free microstock photo agencies.
Some of the more elusive things that contain copyrighted material are:
Zips with branding
Clips on bags with branding
Buttons with branding
Watches
Phones
Artworks
Text written in a language the inspector does not read will also often be rejected as they have no way of knowing if it’s copyrighted.
Cloning out any logos or branding can take a long time, so it’s best to avoid including these things in your photos when you can.
What’s allowed and what is not allowed is different for regular and for editorial licensing.
Images submitted for sale under a standard royalty-free license can be edited freely. Editorial stock images must meet higher standards. The most important thing to know is you cannot generally make use of the clone tool.
Any alteration to the content, other than sensor spots is not allowed. You must check the rules for each stock agency you submit editorial images to.
Conclusion
Become familiar with the requirements of each stock photo agency you want to upload to. Understand what is acceptable and what is not. This can take some time but ultimately will save you time and stress.
Take your time when you are editing stock photos. Look carefully at each one. Zoom into 100% to ensure your image quality meets the standards required.
I hope you find these tips useful. Do you have any other tips for editing stock photos you’d like to share? Please do so in the comments!
The post 8 Tips for Editing Stock Photos so they Pass Inspection appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
Adobe has released its June Creative Cloud updates, bringing with it a number of new features for its cloud-based product suite, including Photoshop, Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw.
Adobe Photoshop
First on the agenda is Photoshop for desktop. Adobe has updated its Select Subject tool with new algorithms to help it better recognize what’s being selected and alter its selection accordingly. Specifically, Adobe has worked on portrait selection, which will recognize when a person is being selected and more accurately select the subject’s hair and other details using its Sensei AI machine learning technology.
Adobe has also added rotatable patterns, Adobe Fonts auto-activation (no more messages about missing fonts) and an updated Match Font feature that can detect fonts in an image and suggest similar-looking fonts within your library to use in the image.
You can find a detailed post explaining all of the new Photoshop features in depth on Adobe’s announcement blog post.
Adobe Lightroom
Moving on to Lightroom, Adobe has added a new Local Hue adjustment (ACR, Lightroom Classic, Lightroom CC macOS/Windows, iOS and Android), Versions (Lightroom CC macOS/Windows, iOS and Android), Raw defaults (Lightroom CC macOS/Windows, iOS and Android) and ISO Adaptive Presets (ACR and Lightroom Classic).
The new Centered Crop Overlay makes it easier to center a subject in an image.
The Local Hue adjustment makes it possible to edit the color in select areas of an image, the new Versions feature makes it possible to create and edit multiple versions of the same image without needing to duplicate it, Raw defaults makes it so you can apply specific default settings to Raw photographs to make the images reflect the internal picture profile you’ve set in-camera and the ISO Adaptive Presets makes it possible to change how a specific preset looks based on what ISO the image was captured at.
One of the new features in Lightroom CC for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android is ‘Versions,’ which lets you make multiple edits of the same image without having to duplicate the file.
Other new features include Centered Crop Overlay, Watermarks and Lightroom for iPad finally has an Edit in Photoshop’ option for immediately editing the image in Photoshop for iPad (with a reverse option to ‘Send to Lightroom’ when you’re done with your edits).
The ability to export an image from Lightroom for iPad to Photoshop for iPad and back is a very welcomed addition that’s been requested by users for quite some time now.
Lightroom Classic has also received performance improvements. GPU acceleration for image editing came about last year, but these new improvements focus on a smoother experience while scrolling through your library, searching and filtering collections and scrubbing sliders in the Develop module. Adobe says ‘you’ll experience faster scrolling and less stuttering especially while navigating up and down larger catalogs and sifting through longer lists of collections.’
You can see a detailed breakdown of each of the new features and updates in Lightroom on Adobe’s announcement blog post.
Adobe Camera Raw
The new ACR interface more closely resembles that of Adobe’s more recent Lightroom and Photoshop updates.
Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) has also received an update that brings its interface and feature set more in line with Lightroom. In addition to the Local Hue adjustment, ISO Adaptive Presets and center crop overlay, ACR has also moved many of its local tools to the right-hand side of the interface and put its various adjustment in stackable panels, similar to what’s found in Lightroom’s Develop module. You can also choose whether the Filmstrip (image thumbnails) appears on the left-hand side of the interface or on the bottom, underneath the images.
You can find a rundown of all of the new features on Adobe’s ‘What’s new in ACR’ announcement post.
Apple has released a new graphics option for the 16in version of its MacBook Pro which should deliver a dramatic increase in speed when dealing with large files. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M is said to be a desktop-class GPU that comes with 8GB of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2) that Apple claims will make the top-spec machine 75% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M standard option. The upgrade adds $ 700 / £700 to the cost.
The standard 16in MacBook Pro model comes with 1TB of SSD storage, but options of up to 8TB are available for an extra £2200/ which, along with all the other upgrades – 64GB of 2666MHz DDR4 memory and the 2.4GHz i9 processor with Turbo Boost to 5GHz – can take the price of the machine to a cool $ 6699 / £6699.
Mac Pro desktop users can also now buy user-changeable SSD kits for their Tower models, with 1TB, 2TGB, 4TB and 8TB options available. The kits come with two sticks each of half the total of the capacity and are designed to replace the existing storage in the machine. In order to replace them, Apple says a second Mac running Apple Configurator 2 is required. Prices for the SSD kits range from $ 600 / £600 for 1TB to $ 2800 / £2800 for 8TB.
Winning images from the inaugural World Landscape Photographer competition
The winning photographs and commended shots of the inaugural World Landscape Photographer competition have been announced, showcasing incredible scenery captured around the world.
The World Landscape Photographer competition is the brainchild of professional landscape photographer Nigel Danson. Determined to help those affected by people affected by COVID-19 and inspired by browsing through his own photo catalog, Danson conceptualized the competition and eventually brought it to life.
The premise was simple — share five of your best landscape photos captured from before March 1, 2020 for an entry fee of just £10. ‘At least 90%’ of the entry fees would go to a COVID-19 charity, with the remaining 10% going towards ‘CC fees and costs associated with sending the prizes to the winners.’ According to Danson, he ‘never thought over 1000 people would enter,’ but sure enough, he and six other judges pored over 4,838 images from more than 1,000 entrants to whittle it down to one 1st place winner, seven prize winners and 50 commended images.
The 1st place prize in the inaugural World Landscape Photography competition went to Neil Burnell from England with his ‘stunning mystical image of Wistman’s Wood in Devon entitled Wise.’ For winning the coveted 1st place prize, Burnell is receiving a Nikon Z50 camera and two lenses, which were donated by Nikon. Other items from Benro, Fotospeed, Kase and Tenba were given out to the remaining six winners.
In total, more than £10K went to a Unicef coronavirus appeal that is ‘raising money to help children affected by the outbreak by working to provide handwashing campaigns as well as providing essential health worker supplies, such as surgical gloves, soap and clean water facilities.’
In this gallery, we’re presenting the 1st place winner and the remaining six prize-winning photos. You can view all 50 of the commended images and words from each of the judges on the World Landscape Photographer website.
1st Place — Wise by Neil Burnell
Gear & Settings:
Nikon Z7
24–70mm F4 Z Lens
28mm F8 1/3s ISO 64
www.neilburnell.com
About the photo: I’ve been shooting Wistmans now for four years and have had the composition of this shot in mind for a little while. The shot required extremely thick fog to give the centre trees a touch of separation in what is a very condensed and complex area of the woodland. After several unsuccessful shots of this scene, I finally got lucky with a full day of fog in January this year, I have to say this is probably my favourite image I’ve taken from this wonderful woodland.
2nd Place — The Copse by Jason Hudson
Gear & Settings:
Fujifilm XT1 (Infra Red converted)
XF10–24mm F4 lens
24mm F8 1/125s ISO 200
Instagram
About the photo: Living in the Eden Valley, all I have to do normally to see if its misty is look out of the window. Thus was the case this particular morning. Thick mist sat across the Eden Valley. With my Sony A7 in for repair I was left with a small Sony Compact and my Fujifilm XT1 which had been converted to Infra Red.
I waited for the sun to rise over the Pennines for the magic to happen. For a glorious 20 minutes I scurried about in my local woodland at Edenhall. I captured some lovely images but then as I came along the road I saw this copse of trees emerging from the mist. It looked majestic. With some blue sky above.
I knew Infra Red would work well. As soon as I looked through the eyepiece I saw the potential for this image. I short the image handheld. The capture needed very little processing, other than an infra red preset in Silver Efex that I use and a touch of Gaussian blur to soften it.
3rd Place — Special by Andrew Baruffi
Gear & Settings:
Canon EOS 6D Mark II
24–70mm F2.8 II Lens
50mm F8 1/8s ISO 100
www.andrewbaruffiphoto.com
About the photo: I’ve only been practicing photography for a couple years. In that time I’ve always assumed that subjects, composition, and conditions outweighed the importance of light. In some cases that can still be true for me, but even the littlest amount of light can make a scene truly special. This image spans across two days. In areas of Zion’s east side, patches of ice can be found tucked between the boulders of the washes in the winter months. Those patches tend to fade as more of the water and ice seeps into the sand or simply melts and evaporates on a hotter day. I arrived to a section of the main wash on a chilly day that has the more rare attribute of a pool at a certain bend. The pool was fairly iced over, and the intricacies in the ice patterns were supported by delicate fallen leaves here and there. One leaf in particular caught my eye, a golden oak that bent upwards from the center as the tip and stem were fused into the ice. I sat at that pool for a few hours trying to find the best composition, and eventually found exactly what I wanted. It was such a beautiful scene, I knew that I had to make sure that I got it right before it all vanished.
The next day I arrived to an even colder east side. I returned to the same exact composition to see how it transformed over night. The ice took on a more singular pattern with less variation thanks to the freeze, and the oak leaf still sat frozen in place. Even more special was the morning light creeping into the scene. Golden reflected light from the sandstone opposite me kissed the surface of the oak leaf, and made me realize what I was missing. It wasn’t the composition, conditions, patterns, or subjects that defined the moment; just the simplicity of a tiny bit of light.
4th Place — Fleeting Daydream by Tod Colbert
Gear & Settings:
Nikon Z7
70–200mm VRII F2.8
200mm F5 1/100s ISO 200
www.todcolbert.com
About the photo: I took this at Lower Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park this February. It was shot early in the morning and the sun’s position created the rainbow for no more than a minute or so. There were many shots taken before this one as I waited for the sunlight to stream through the falls. Magical it was.
5th Place — Rolling Fog at Buttermere by Adrian Harrison
Gear & Settings:
Nikon D610
20mm F1.8 Lens
20mm F13 69s ISO 50
About the photo: Living only half an hours drive from buttermere in the lake district you could say that i am quite familiar with this location. I cant count how many mornings have been spent here trying to capture something that looked a little different from the images you usually see from here. luckily for me, on this occasion the conditions were simply amazing. fog filtering through the scene, perfectly calm waters and not a breath of wind. all i could hear was the sound of the gravel underfoot. i took several frames here but decided to go with a long exposure so the viewer could see just how the fog was gently moving over the fells behind the infamous pines of buttermere. A morning to remember.
6th Place — Kunkovice´s Green by Radoslav Cernicky
Gear & Settings:
Nikon 7200
70–300mm Lens
260mm F11 1/160s ISO 100
www.radoslavcernicky.com
About the photo: The photo was taken in the spring during the golden hour using a telephoto lens. It is South Moravia in the Czech Republic near the village Kunkovice. This is an area also known as Moravian Tuscany.
7th Place — Fall Impressions by Jason Flenniken
Gear & Settings:
Sony A7R IV
70–200mm F4 Lens
84mm F11 1/20s ISO 200
www.jasonflenniken.com
About the photo: This was an image taken on my first trip to Acadia National Park in October 2019. It was my first time seeing fall color in the northeast, and I was completely blown away. This location is a Tarn right on the side of the road. It was taken mid-morning. For about 30 minutes you get perfect reflections of the hillside colors in the water.
This area was full of small scene compositions, and I was lucky in that some cloud cover created patchy light. It required little editing as does most shots from that time of year in Acada, the colors are almost too vibrant straight from the camera. Shot with a 70–200 f/4 and Sony A7R4, which let me crop in to really narrow down the shapes in the image.
Jesse Dittmar was recently hired by The Washington Post to photograph 16-year-old TikTok star Charli D’Amelio in her parent’s backyard.
All photographs by Jesse Dittmar
Jesse Dittmar has been photographing high-profile celebrities since late 2013. He’s used to photographing the big names on short notice with a limited time-frame for publications like The Washington Post and The New York Times, but when COVID-19 hit, his typically busy shooting schedule dried up quickly.
Ordinarily, celebrity photoshoots require travel and large teams working together in extremely close quarters. In the month’s since COVID-19 has swept through the world, we’ve seen magazine’s like Essence and GQ asking stars to photograph themselves for features in the publications. Luckily for photographers like Dittmar, the celebrity selfie doesn’t seem like it will become the new normal in the photo world.
Dittmar photographs big names on short notice for publications like the Washington Post and the New York Times
The Washington Post recently commissioned Dittmar to photograph Charli D’Amelio – a 16-year old from Norwalk, Connecticut with over 60 million TikTok followers. She is one of the rulers of the social media platform, which she uses to share short-form videos of herself dancing in her home, lip-syncing to her family’s dogs and more recently using her influencer status to urge teenagers to stay at home during the global pandemic.
We caught up with Dittmar to learn more about his photoshoot with D’Amelio, his experience shooting in the era of COVID-19 and what he thinks celebrity shoots will be like moving forward.
This was your first shoot since COVID-19 hit the states, how did the opportunity come about?
The first shoot of the COVID-era happened earlier than I was expecting, to be honest. I thought it would be well into the summer before I was going to get that first call, but I got an email out of the blue, like I normally do. The photo editor was very understanding in the email, everybody has different levels of risk tolerance in this new era – it depends on your personal health and your family situation – a whole variety of factors. The shoot made sense for me and I was itching to make some art, because I hadn’t in so long, so it was a no-brainer to say yes.
The editor really encouraged me not to bring an assistant, keep it small, and that’s what I did
The Washington Post was very explicit about how they wanted to keep it safe. Typically for a shoot like this I’m taking at least one assistant if not two, possibly a makeup artist and a stylist. The crew for a shoot like this could easily be 4-5 people. But sometimes a shoot can even be up to 10 people. It was clear that wasn’t going to happen. The editor really encouraged me not to bring an assistant, keep it small, and that’s what I did.
What was the experience like of working without an assistant, I imagine it’s been a number of years since you’ve worked in such a stripped down way?
It reminded me of when I was first starting out doing photo shoots, early on, when I was my own everything. It wasn’t completely foreign to me, but it was a big flashback. I have not worked in that way – especially with famous people – in a long time. Typically when I know I’m photographing someone who is accomplished and whose time is short, it’s important I bring all the people. We have to execute a level of professionalism and deliver a quality product in a very quick amount of time. The way to do that is to make sure you have the support you need.
What other precautions did you take to make sure that the shoot would be safe?
Part of the deal was we were going to photograph in Charli’s parent’s backyard. We were outdoors the entire time, staying socially-distant and keeping six feet away from each other. I met her parents before the shoot, they came out to the back deck and we had a little chat. It was very low key, there was no one around. The only people that I saw were her family and the dogs.
It ended up being very intimate, just us in the backyard, I haven’t done a shoot like that in so long. There were no distractions
She self-styled and we went through two outfit changes. With someone like Charli, she does her own makeup. I knew what her vibe was going to be like, I liked that vibe, and I wanted the photos to capture that. We also didn’t want to make her feel older than she is. She’s a teenager, she has a clear strong visual aesthetic and a sensibility that I wanted to embrace. It ended up being very intimate, just us in the backyard, I haven’t done a shoot like that in so long. There were no distractions.
How did your technical setup change without having an assistant with you?
Because I was the one doing all the heavy lifting I was cognizant of not bringing anything that I wouldn’t use. I’m not 23 years old anymore, so carrying hundreds of pounds of equipment isn’t as appealing as it once was. I made sure to pack light. Ironically, the first thing I rented was sandbags.
One of the best parts of working with an assistant is you’ve got a fully automated human brain running around with you and can make sure that stuff isn’t falling over. If you want to move a light fast and you are outdoors and you know you are only going to do that shot for 30-60 seconds, you just have an assistant make sure that light is not going to fall over.
I also rented a much longer lens than I would normally use. I’m usually shooting much closer, but for this I rented a 70-200. That and the sandbags were the big two rentals. I wanted to be as simple as possible because I didn’t have any help. I went into the shoot with the idea that I was going to use natural light if possible. I didn’t want to break out a bunch of lights and modifiers if I could help it (I still brought a light as a backup). The more stuff that you have out the more stuff that can fall over and the more stuff that can go wrong.
Ironically, the first time I rented was sandbags, I also rented a much longer lens than I would normally use
I also brought an 8 x 8ft frame, clamps, stands and bleached muslin cloth; this is a system that I use a lot when I’m photographing people against white, outdoors. The cloth interacts really well with the sun, it really absorbs the light, but also has the reflection. When I scouted out her backyard I found a spot where I knew by the time she came out, the sun was going to be coming through the trees and I could use the muslin as a projector. I thought that was a really nice effect.
When I’m shooting in a scenario like this, I’m typically trying to put my background in a shaded area which has a lot of blue sky. That provides a really nice broad luminous light source. It’s usually soft and bright, and that’s what this is, but with the added effect of the sun coming through the tree behind the backdrop.
Typically your time with celebrities is very limited, 15 or 20 minutes max, was that the case for this shoot as well?
Her publicist was treating this like it was a normal shoot, from a timing perspective. They only wanted me to photograph her for about 20 minutes, which is pretty typical. I didn’t push back while we were setting up the shoot and I was prepared for that, but I knew in the back of my head we’d likely get more time, which is what happened. All in all, I probably spent about an hour with her. I was on site for pretty much the whole afternoon to set up. I took my time with that.
Do you think your experience shooting with Charli is representative of what photoshoots will be like moving forward?
I’m expecting more photoshoots to come back later this summer and into the fall and I’m expecting shoots to be a lot more like this. Photoshoots of people are inherently risky because you are meeting people that are not in your COVID circle. I think that everyone is going to be very aware of being safe. But I think portrait sessions will happen. I don’t think all portraits will happen, but portraits like this, of personalities and newsworthy figures that are doing things that people want to read about, will. And the process in which they will be made will be very similar to my experience.
I see photoshoots up and down the spectrum of budget and production, all to be smaller
Photographers will be taking every precaution that they can and utilizing the smallest footprint and crew. I think they will be a lot more self-styling. Hair and makeup may become remote or the hair and makeup people will be super masked-up. I also think the timing of these shoots will continue to be quick. But in general I see everything happening at a more intimate, small scale, and I see photoshoots up and down the spectrum of budget and production, all to be smaller.
I think folks like myself who are used to working like this will have an easier time. I think photographers that are used to leaning on the production value heavily are going to have to make big changes in the way that their work looks and the way they physically operate, or they might be left behind.
The post How to Choose the Perfect Focus Mode For Every Situation appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Do you struggle with choosing a focus mode? Do you want to know how to choose the perfect focus mode, every single time you pick up your camera?
You’ve come to the right place.
Because while it may seem to difficult to choose the best focus mode for the situation, there are a few guidelines you can use to ensure you nail focus, consistently.
Let’s dive right in.
Canon EF 400mm f5.6L USM lens | 400mm | f/6.3 | 1/1000s | ISO 200
The three key focus modes
Most cameras are equipped with three key focus modes:
AF-S, also known as One Shot.
AF-C, also known as Continuous, also known as AI Servo.
Manual (sometimes abbreviated as M).
Note that some cameras include an additional focus mode, known as AI Focus, also known as AF-A. But it’s a mode that I never use, and I certainly don’t recommend to others (it’s frequently finicky, and not very effective).
Instead, I suggest learning how to use the modes listed above, and you’ll do just fine!
So how do each of these key focus modes work?
Assuming that you use the shutter button to activate focusing:
When set to AF-S, your camera will acquire focus as soon as you half-press the shutter button. And that point of focus will lock until you let go of the shutter.
When set to AF-C, your camera will begin to acquire focus when you half-press the shutter button. But it will continue to refocus as your subject moves (or as your camera moves).
AF-C is very helpful for tracking moving subjects, like the leaping girl in this image. Canon EF-S 24mm f2.8 STM Lens | 24mm | f/5.6 | 1/800s | ISO 320
Note that you can tell a camera in AF-C to track a subject as it moves through the frame, or to continuously acquire focus at the center of the image, etc.
When set to manually focus, your camera won’t focus at all. You have to do all the focusing work via the focus ring on your lens.
Make sense?
So, to recap:
AF-S focuses and locks.
AF-C focuses and keeps focusing, potentially even tracking a subject as they move.
And manual leaves control over focus to you, the photographer.
But when should you use each of these focus modes?
Read on to find out!
When should you use your AF-S focus mode?
AF-S focus mode is my go-to, and the mode I use most frequently. When choosing a focus mode, AF-S is my first thought. And if you’re more of a still photographer (i.e., not an action/sports/wildlife shooter), I recommend you use AF-S mode all the time.
This is because it has so many applications, from landscape to street to portrait and more.
I used AF-S to capture this simple image of a bike tire. Canon EF 50mm f1.8 Lens | 50mm | f/1.8 | 1/320s | ISO 200
Basically, whenever you’re shooting a non-moving subject, AF-S is the way to go. You can set the focus point to the center of the frame, half-press the shutter button to lock focus, and then compose the shot however you like.
(This is often referred to as the focus and recompose technique.)
For instance, if you’re photographing a street scene, you can focus on a prominent element, such as an interesting poster. Then you can carefully compose the scene. And, as soon as all the elements come together (e.g., a person walks through in just the right place), you can take the shot!
I’m also a fan of using AF-S for handheld landscape photography. I’ll often find myself wanting to put elements off-center, so I’ll lock focus in AF-S, then shift the composition slightly.
I used the focus and recompose method to capture this landscape shot at sunset. Canon EF 100mm Macro f2.8L Lens | 100mm | f/8 | 1/1250s | ISO 200
And then, when I take the shot, it looks exactly the way I envisioned.
Really, AF-S is an extremely useful mode and the one I recommend you use it whenever you’re shooting a motionless scene.
When should you use your AF-C focus mode?
You should use AF-C focus mode whenever you’re shooting action.
An action shot like this is a lot easier in AF-C! 400mm | f/7.1 | 1/1250s | ISO 200
You see, AF-C mode allows you to focus and refocus, or focus and track a subject as it moves throughout the frame.
This is invaluable when shooting sports, where players rarely stay still long enough to allow for easy focusing.
AF-C mode is also great for wildlife and bird photography because you’re frequently faced with fast-moving subjects at high magnifications.
And if you’re an insect photographer, you’ll also want to use AF-C mode, assuming you’re shooting an active subject such as a butterfly.
Even pet and street photographers can profit from using AF-C a lot of the time (though I recommend switching between AF-C and AF-S, depending on the situation).
Animals tend to move fast, so AF-C can be a big benefit. 50mm | f/2.8 | 1/640s | ISO 200
You should also be aware that AF-C often offers quite a few useful AF Area Modes (which are mostly used for tracking). These allow you to specify whether a subject should be tracked at a single autofocus point, by a single point and nearby surrounding points, or across the entire frame.
So, bottom line:
If you’re choosing a focus mode when shooting action, pick AF-C.
400mm | f/7.1 | 1/1600s | ISO 200
When should you use your manual focus mode?
100mm | f/3.5 | 1/320s | ISO 200
Manual focus is often a mode of last resort, and the one that you go to when AF-S and AF-C fail.
Manual focus is very, very slow. It can also be frustrating if you’ve not had much practice with it before. But it’s the only mode that is consistently accurate, no matter the lighting, and no matter the size or color of your subject.
You see, there are some situations where AF-C and AF-S just don’t work well.
When the light is low
When your subject is heavily backlit
When your subject includes very little contrast
When you’re working at very high magnifications
The backlighting was causing my camera to struggle, so I switched to manual focus for this image! 50mm | f/2.8 | 1/1000s | ISO 200
Whenever you’re confronted by these situations, your autofocus will hunt like crazy.
Until you switch to manual, that is!
For instance, I do all of my macro photography in manual focus mode. My lenses just can’t handle focusing at such close distances.
Shots like this require manual focus; otherwise, I’d be there all day waiting for my lens to lock onto a petal! 100mm | f/2.8 | 1/250s | ISO 200
I also do still life photography while focusing manually, because I often work in dim light (with a couple of flashes).
I’ve also used manual focus when photographing birds, because my AF-S and AF-C modes struggle when shooting backlit silhouettes.
Note that manual can also be used for finer control over your point of focus. Many landscape photographers use manual focus mode for this very reason. It allows you to choose a point of focus that maximizes your depth of field, and it even allows you to do precise focus-stacking with ease.
If you’re trying to maximize depth of field throughout your frame, then manual focus is a great choice. 24mm | f/11 | 1/4s | ISO 200
So don’t think that manual focus is only for a few specialized genres of photography. It can be useful in a number of different situations, and it pays to practice frequently.
That way, next time you’re in a situation where your autofocus isn’t working, you can quickly switch over to manual and nail the shot.
How to choose the perfect focus mode: Conclusion
50mm | f/4 | 1/250s | ISO 200
Now that you’ve finished this article, you know that choosing a focus mode doesn’t have to be hard.
Because you know about AF-S (which is great for still subjects).
You know about AF-C (which is perfect for action photography).
And you know about manual focus, which is useful in quite a few scenarios (including macro, landscape, and still life).
Now over to you:
Which focus mode is your favorite? And how do you go about choosing a focus mode? Let me know in the comments!
The post How to Choose the Perfect Focus Mode For Every Situation appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
The Panasonic 20-60mm F3.5-5.6, arriving on the market this summer, is a little wider than is typically seen from a standard, variable aperture zoom. Priced at $ 600 it’s one of the more affordable options for owners Panasonic or Leica full-frame mirrorless cameras. We’ve got some new sample images from the lens for your consideration – in addition to the previously-published images courtesy of DPReview TV, which you can find below.
$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_4690187205″,”galleryId”:”4690187205″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”isMobile”:false}) }); Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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A screenshot of an altered photo shared by Fox News, which has since been removed from its website.
Fox News is taking heat after publishing a digitally altered image and a misleading photograph last week in its reporting on Seattle’s Black Lives Matter protests in Seattle, Washington.
Last Friday, Huffington Post reporter Michael Hobbes shared a set of pictures that shows Fox News clearly composited an image of a person carrying a rifle over two photographs of Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ). While the editing job is far from subtle if you look closely – note the lighting discrepancies between the backgrounds and the gun-wielding subject, as well as the extra area of red between his torso and left elbow – the fact the same individual was used in two separate images makes it clear this was a post-production job.
lmao Fox News is photoshopping an armed guard into pictures about the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone to make it look more dangerous than it is (h/t @sumromanus!) pic.twitter.com/WtxE8k18KB
— Michael Hobbes (@RottenInDenmark) June 12, 2020
A Fox News spokesperson provided the following comment to Seattle Times:
‘We have replaced our photo illustration with the clearly delineated images of a gunman and a shattered storefront, both of which were taken this week in Seattle’s autonomous zone’
It appears that there are weapons in the autonomous zone, but as The Seattle Times notes, even Fox News’ follow-up statement is misleading, since the photo of the armed man was taken on June 10th in the Capitol Hill neighborhood while the wrecked storefront image was captured in downtown Seattle, back on May 30th, according to metadata provided by Getty Images.
Photojournalism ethics expert Kenny Irby told Seattle Times in response to the posting of the altered images, ‘I think it’s disgraceful propaganda and terribly misrepresentative of documentary journalism in times like this, when truth-telling and accountability is so important […] There is no attribution. There is no acknowledgment of the montage, and it’s terribly misleading.’ National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) executive director Akili-Casundria Ramsess also told The Seattle Times it was ‘completely egregious to manipulate this the way they have done.’
They also used a fiery photo from Minnesota as the centerpiece on a package of stories about Seattle. https://t.co/RBF0ttg2ku pic.twitter.com/bElH94RgYW
— Gina Cole (@Gina_Cole_) June 12, 2020
In a reply to Hobbe’s post on Twitter, Seattle Times Editor Gina Cole responded with a screenshot showing Fox News also shared an article under the headline ‘Seattle helpless as armed guards patrol anarchists’ ‘autonomous zone,’ shake down businesses: cops’ with a photo of an individual running through the streets with a burning car in the foreground and a burning storefront in the background.
However, the image Fox News featured with the article was taken not in Seattle this past week, but two weeks ago, 1,650 miles away in Minneapolis. It was taken by AP photographer John Minchillo, during the Black Lives Matter protests in Minnesota’s capital, as noted by Suki Dardarian, Senior Managing Editor & VP of Minnesota’s Star Tribune. Meanwhile, Seattle’s protests remains largely peaceful, and SPD has apologized for repeating the groundless claim that local businesses had been ‘shaken down’.
Note the creation date on AP Image’s website: May 30, 2020 05:13:07 PM
In response to the criticism, Fox News took down the images and shared the following statement on Saturday in the form of an Editor’s Note at the end of the article:
‘A FoxNews.com home page photo collage which originally accompanied this story included multiple scenes from Seattle’s ‘Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone’ and of wreckage following recent riots,” the note read. “The collage did not clearly delineate between these images, and has since been replaced. In addition, a recent slideshow depicting scenes from Seattle mistakenly included a picture from St. Paul. Fox News regrets these errors.’
This isn’t the first time Fox News has been caught altering images or sharing misleading images under unrelated headlines. But it’s not the only offender. CBS was caught this past April using video footage of an Italian hospital while reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. CBS apologized at the time for what it called an ‘editing mistake’.
Editor’s note (June 15, 2020): A previous version of this article incorrectly stated it was CNN that was caught using incorrect video footage in April — it was in fact CBS. The article has been updated accordingly.
One of the new features in Lightroom CC for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android is ‘Versions,’ which lets you make multiple edits of the same image without having to duplicate the file.
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