In October, Adobe released Lightroom 2.0 for iOS which, unlike previous versions, can be used as a stand-alone app on your Apple mobile device, without a paid subscription to the company’s Creative Cloud services. Apparently customer response to the move has been very positive and Adobe has decided to do the same with the Android version of the app. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
With the end of 2015 and the holiday period approaching, we know that many dPS readers find themselves with cameras in hand more than any other time of year.
The holidays come with so many wonderful photographic opportunities – and we don’t want you to miss a single one!
So we have a special gift for dPS newsletter subscribers…
A free dPS mini-guide – How to Photograph the Holidays!
This 15-page downloadable PDF guide is filled with 12 practical tips and a fantastic printable checklist. It’s all about helping you discover how to capture the magic of the holidays and create memorable images that you’ll cherish for years to come.
A special thanks to our friends Lauren and Rob at Photography Concentrate for creating this download.
It’s completely free for all our subscribers as a thank you for being a valued part of our community.
To receive it, you can subscribe to our newsletter here. You’ll receive an email shortly after asking you to confirm your subscription, and on doing that, you’ll be taken to a page where you can download the guide and printable checklist.
We hope you find this little gift as useful as we do and that it helps you capture the joy and fun of the holidays.
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The post How to Photograph the Holidays: Download your Free Guide Today by Darren Rowse appeared first on Digital Photography School.
[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]
If your mobile device runs out of batteries on the streets of Grenoble, simply find one of these machines, specify a desired duration, and receive a free printed short story to read in a park or on a train.
Deployed by the publishers of Short Édition, these automated kiosks are online 24 hours a day with a selection of 600 short stories, works selected by a community of over 140,000 subscribers. Would-be readers are directed to select the length of story they wish to read, then wait a few moments while the tale is printed.
No one is suggesting we stop traveling with our cell phones on hand, but for people who need a break from the screen or desire some alternative entertainment, this provides another option. The project creates not just printed stories but focal points for urban interaction, changing the way we think about and connect with cities and one another.
That said, the ‘stories’ component is still a critical component of this civic intervention: “Stories are an important part of our life. We need them to construct who we are as individuals. More and more people don’t take the time anymore to sit and read a book. This is a way to have a little ‘bite’ of a story, just for a couple of minutes.”
Some now-vintage models dispense art or books – other new machines can vend hot food, let you swap for new stuff, or work in reverse, giving you cash for goods.
Click Here to Read More »»
Donated boxes of right-sized clothing can be a boon for those who cannot afford another choice, but this clever approach empowers people in need to choose …
Click Here to Read More »»
Agree with the war or disagree, this is a powerful image that brings the impacts home to your very own street corner.
Click Here to Read More »»
[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]
[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]
PhotoShelter has launched ‘The Professional’s Guide to Food Photography,’ a new free guide dedicated to the art and business of photographing food. The guide includes tips for breaking into the industry, in-depth interviews with food photographers and a how-to on building a portfolio. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
A question I get asked a lot is, “What software for post processing would you recommend if you were starting out in photography today?”
Don’t know which photo editor to choose, here are some free options worth considering.
My go-to software for editing photos is Adobe Photoshop. This doesn’t mean I am advocating that Photoshop is the only photo editor worth considering – far from it. I will be using Photoshop as a frame of reference only, and not as a direct comparison to other software products mentioned in this article.
Deciding which Photo Editor can be daunting for a beginner, especially as there are so many to choose from!
However, it is the industry’s number one software for professionals. Prior to the new subscription model, Photoshop was a standalone piece of software and was expensive. But even with the subscription model, it’s a recurrent expense, which over time will amount considerably for your buck.
After doing some research, I was quite amazed at the plethora of photo editing software applications, on the market that are relatively inexpensive to purchase. Most of which equip the beginner with more than enough features and tools to get your images looking great.
Also, most of the applications can be downloaded free, for a limited trial period. This gives you a better idea what it’s like, and you’re able to test the software and its capabilities.
Other products can be downloaded for entirely free and some are even web based, so you don’t have to download any software onto your computer. The disadvantage is that you do need a reliable internet connection. Also, I did find the annoying ads that pop up alongside the interface distracting. An alternative to get rid of these ads is to pay for an upgrade.
Let’s take a look at some of the free options:
Pixlr is a web based, online editing tool. You can create a new image, upload an image, or grab one directly from a URL location. I found this product very intuitive and easy to use. The images load up fast in the web browser. The interface is quite similar to Photoshop. It has all the tools like: layers, lasso tool, brush controls, cloning, and filters.
The Launch screen as it appears when you load Pixlr in your web browser.
You have four options to choose from when you go to open your file. It’s that easy.
Ok, so where do you start with your post-processing?
When you have your image open, duplicate it so that you keep the original intact. That way, if you completely mess up, don’t worry, you still have the original to begin again.
Post editing is a skill. It does take patience and time to master.
I would consider color correction an important area to begin your post-processing.
The Levels setting exists in many image editors. It is a powerful tool for adjusting the tones (contrast) in your image, and for making color adjustments. In Photoshop, you select Layer> New Adjustment Layer > Levels. In Photoshop Elements choose Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Levels. Other image editors place it differently, but essentially it does the same job. The Levels setting is a bit daunting and complex to begin with, but I do feel it is worth the time to get to know.
The Levels dialog box has an image histogram which is similar to the display on the back of your camera. A simple explanation of the histogram is: the shadows (blacks) are on the far left, mid-tones (grays) are in the middle and the highlights (whites) are on the far right. So by adjusting any of the sliders on the bottom, you will affect the contrast of your image.
The Levels setting on the left belongs to Pixlr, and on the right is the Levels adjustment as it appears in Photoshop CS6.
Okay, but what about the color of the image?
An easy way to adjust color correction is by changing the color channels which are found in the Levels dialog box. The default setting is RGB in Pixlr.
Where you find the Levels setting in Pixlr.
Go to Adjustment Tab and select Levels. Click on the downward arrow next to RGB in Channel, this brings up a drop-down menu for the red, green and blue channels. Choose the first one, which is red. Look at the histogram graph and check for gaps in it.
The colour channels appear in a drop down menu by clicking on the small arrow to the right of RGB.
For this image, as it is quite over-exposed a lot of the shadow detail is lost (overly gray and no black in the image), see left of the graph. Move the shadow slider to the right, in towards the middle, where the graph starts to go up.
You want your graph to represent a nice mountain shape starting from the shadows rising high in the midtones and back down to the highlights. See photo. Repeat this process for the other two channels. Click back to RGB.
To add some contrast, just move the middle slider (mid-tones) to the right, see photo below. There is a lot more to learn about the Levels adjustment, but this is just an easy way for beginners to start.
Before and after colour correction on the RGB channels using Pixlr.
Some other alternative web based solutions are SumoPaint, which has a similar interface to Photoshop, and another called PicMonkey.
Similar to Pixlr, SumoPaint was very easy to use. I was able to adjust the color correction on this image using the Levels adjustment and modifying the color channels, as I did using Pixlr.
If you prefer to download software onto your computer. Again there is a wide choice of free products available.
Here’s another one that you may or may not have come across, called Photoscape. This software is packed with excellent features for free. It has a built-in image viewer, which lets you see all your images quickly at a glance using thumbnails. It also has a Batch Editor, so if you apply an edit to one photo or resize it – using the Batch Editor will apply the same edit to multiple images. It even has a RAW Converter. For beginners, it offers image cropping, brightness and colour adjustment, red eye removal, and some great effects too. It does appear to more intuitive and offer a less steep learning curve for beginners.
Photoscape
Main editor tools in Photoscape
Adding frames in Photoscape
Edit photo edge in Photoscape
Preview, which is Apple’s built-in image and document viewer for OS X, surprised me. It has the capability to crop, resize, and do color adjustment which was quite impressive.
In summing up, there is a vast range of post-processing image editors to choose from. In this article, I only hinted at a mere few. The list is endless!
As a guide for beginners, I would experiment with the free options and test them out for yourself. There is no financial investment only your time. The time invested will give you a better idea which application suits you best in the long run.
Post-processing does require time, no matter how skillful you become at it. Once you have established a certain level of skill at post editing, you can then graduate to purchasing a reasonable priced standalone image editor, if you prefer.
Example products are:
Or you could simply download GIMP, (some equate this software as being powerful to Photoshop) which is an open source image editor with versions available for Windows, OS X, and Linux. There are lots of tutorials and resources already on the web to help you further with this software.
In fact, if I was new to photography and I had to decide which photo editor to pick, I would feel spoilt for choice!
Disclaimer: I was not contacted or sponsored to test any of the above software applications. Opinions are purely by the author only.
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The post Tips on Choosing a Free Photo Editor for Post-Processing by Sarah Hipwell appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Paid apps have been in decline for some time across all platforms and now the makers one of the most popular camera apps for iOS, Camera+, have decided to adopt the so-called freemium model and offer a free version of their app that can be expanded via in-app purchases. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
You might have already found a website design of your dreams and even picked a platform to create it. But if you haven’t yet chosen a domain name and reliable hosting for your photo website, the job is not done. We have you covered, though. In this post you will find some essential tips on how to choose the best domain and hosting for the Continue Reading
The post 10 Keys to Choosing the Best Domain and Hosting for Photographers (+Free Giveaway!) appeared first on Photodoto.
Pre-registration has opened for our photography expo, PIX 2015 – the photo interactive experience in Seattle on October 6&7. A limited number of FREE passes are available for the main hall, where you’ll find photography experiences, educational programming, product demos, panel discussions, and brand and partner booths. For a limited time we’re also offering an early bird special on PIX VIP All-Access Passes, which includes Hall Pass plus all re:FRAME talks and galleries at McCaw Hall, and the exclusive PIX awards and cocktail party. Learn more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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We’re weeks away from kicking off something BIG!
And we want you (our very best pals) to know first.
So, come take a peek at our sneak preview and grab up a li’l present while you’re at it.
Claim Your Free Print from Parabo Here
Hurry, only the 5,000 folks who ask get one.
Oh good gracious, we’re so excited we could burst!
© laurel for Photojojo, 2015. |
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Your worlds are about to collide. In the best way possible!
The Polaroid SX-70 has not only been restored to factory perfection by MiNT, but it’s also been given a modern kick with Time Machine. The result? A new classic as the SLR670m.
Time Machine gives you incredible creative control, with 16 manual settings including long exposure, Auto and Off modes.
To celebrate our instant love for this modern marvel we’re throwing in free instant film with these instant cams and printers, today only! Not since the 70s has there been a better time to go instant.
Free Film With These Instants
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© Erin for Photojojo, 2015. |
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