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Sony’s speedy Xperia 1 Mark II shoots 20 fps with AF/AE technologies borrowed from the a9

24 Feb

Sony has announced the Xperia 1 Mark II, with improvements to the Mark I’s rear triple camera array and class-leading burst shooting mode. Technology borrowed from the company’s professional Alpha 9 full-frame interchangeable lens camera allows the Xperia 1 Mark II to shoot at up to 20 fps while maintaining continuous autofocus and auto exposure. Sony’s excellent real-time eye AF tracking for human and animal subjects is included and, like the Sony a9, autofocus and auto exposure calculations are performed at 60 times a second.

The Mark II maintains a similar triple camera to its predecessor’s, but with some notable enhancements. The main camera now uses a 12MP 1/1.7″ sensor, which is pretty big by smartphone standards, collecting nearly 50% more light than the 1/2.55″ sensors found in competitors from Apple and Google. It has a slightly wider 24mm equiv. F1.7 lens in front of it, which is optically stabilized.

It now uses a 12MP 1/1.7″ sensor –
pretty big by smartphone standards

The main camera uses dual photo-diode phase detection AF with 70% coverage, and a new 3D time-of-flight (ToF) camera helps improve autofocus performance, particularly in low light. No word yet on whether or not the ToF camera is used to improve the depth map generated from the dual pixel sensor for the camera’s bokeh mode.

The telephoto module is now more ‘telephoto’, with a 70mm equivalent field-of-view, up from 52mm. The lens aperture remains the same at F2.4, and only sparse phase-detection, as opposed to dual pixel, autofocus is available, meaning you can expect some hunting, particularly as light levels drop. Optical image stabilization is available on this module. A 16mm equivalent F2.2 camera provides an ultra-wide field-of-view, and the dual pixel design of its 1/2.6″ sensor allows it to achieve fast autofocus performance.

Neither of these modules offers 20 fps burst rates or 60 fps AF/AE calculations, nor does either support real-time eye AF for humans and animals. It’s worth noting though that the Xperia 1 did support eye tracking for humans with its telephoto module, so we suspect some form of eye detection AF will be available on the 70mm equiv. camera, particularly as it would benefit the phone’s bokeh mode.

The Xperia 1 provided a user interface tailored to pro video shooters, and the Mark II introduces a similar UI for still photographers. Photo Pro mode as Sony is calling it doesn’t replace the standard, more simplified camera app, but is offered in addition to it, with direct touch access to exposure settings. Here Sony is aiming for a consistent user experience across its phones and ILCs. Other UI improvements have been made; for example, you can now simply tap on either a human or an animal in your scene to instantly switch between human and animal eye detection.

The Xperia 1 Mark II maintains the unusually wide display format that the Mark I used, offering a 21:9 6.5″ HDR OLED. Sony claims a color gamut wider than DCI-P3, and a peak brightness of 1000 and 400 nits for 1% and 100% APL (average picture level), respectively, for HDR content. Direct white balance controls are now available for the display, allowing you to choose a desired correlated color temperature. A new ‘motion blur reduction’ mode allows the display to be driven at a 90Hz refresh rate, for smoother scrolling and animation, and Sonly also claims the display has enhanced touch sensitivity, which may mean a higher touch sampling rate.

‘Photo Pro’ mode allows you to see and access common shooting settings like shutter speed, AF mode, and even emulate buttons like AF-ON and AEL. To switch between human and animal eye AF, simply tap on the desired subject.

On the video front, Sony has added 60p and 25p frame rate options to its class-leading 4K HDR mode, making it one of only a handful of smartphones on the market capable of true 4K/60p HDR capture. Like the Mark I, video is encoded using HEVC, with an HLG gamma curve and 10-bit encoding in the wide BT.2020 color space. And whereas previously only center-priority AF was available in video, the Mark II allows you to tap on any subject to rack focus to it. No word yet on whether face or subject tracking are available when shooting video.

In a rare move for modern phone makers, Sony has decided to bring back the 3.5mm headphone jack. The Mark II also offers two front-firing stereo speakers, and Dolby Atmos playback is available. Sony claims the signal:noise ratio of audio has been improved, with a ten-fold reduction in noise. The Xperia 1 Mark II is also the world’s first smartphone to feature 360 degree reality audio.

The Mark II retains its predecessor’s IP 65/58 rating, meaning it’s completely sealed against dust, and will also withstand lower pressure spray as well as total immersion in water. Gorilla Glass 6 protects both the front and rear of the device.

Sony Xperia Pro development

Also under development is an Xperia Pro, which will essentially be an Xperia 1 Mark II with 5G mmWave connectivity optimized for fast upload speeds to assist in a professional workflow. Sony says the device can be used as a high-resolution, color-accurate monitoring device for a dedicated camera via HDMI connection, and will also be able to beam high bit-rate video feeds for broadcast.

No pricing or availability has been given for the Xperia Pro or Xperia 1 Mark II at this time.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Interview: How the brother duo at Abstract Aerial Art create masterpieces from above

21 Feb

Interview: How brothers at Abstract Aerial Art creates masterpieces from above

Photoshop wasn’t involved here. This image of a real-life puzzle piece was captured with a drone in the Netherlands.

JP and Mike Andrews, brothers from the United Kingdom, have gained international recognition for their compelling images taken from an aerial perspective. There’s a good chance you may have already encountered their work in some capacity; they’ve been featured in major publications including The Guardian and National Geographic.

The duo, who refer to themselves professionally as Abstract Aerial Art, had an epiphany back in 2016. While they didn’t have a concrete plan, one thing was clear: they were fed up with their day-to-day lives and needed to change their circumstances. Without a concrete plan in place, they embarked on a journey through the Australian outback, with the intention of taking a hiatus, and unexpectedly found their true calling.

All the images in this slideshow, and on their popular Instagram feed, are taken from real, un-staged locations around the world. Besides slight color and contrast enhancements, the images are not manipulated. ‘The point is not to work out what it is, but to show how weird and wonderful the world can look from above.’ What really sets their work apart is the composition, something the duo has mastered. That last component has transformed their images from mere photographs to works of art.

How do they do it? I’m lucky to call these two friends and they were gracious enough to answer my questions about their background, initial attraction to the drone world and how they monetize their work so they can continue to live the type of adventurous life that most photographers wish they had. All images in this article are published with permission from Abstract Aerial Art.

The Congregation

What is your background?

Mike had been working as a commercial photographer, predominately focused on the product side of things. The technical knowledge he built up over the years was certainly a contributing factor in our decision to buy a drone in the first place. JP was working as a music producer and sound designer and had absolutely no experience in photography.

In early 2016, heartbroken and fed up with day-to-day life in the UK, we made the joint decision to leave everything we knew back home, purchase a one-way ticket to Australia and, with no plan whatsoever, fly to the other side of the world. It was during this life-changing adventure around the Australian continent that we were inspired to get into aerial photography.

The Vault

What was your initial attraction to the drone world?

The idea first came about during the year we spent traveling around Australia, specifically the time we spent in the outback. With the intention of filming some of the incredible sights we had seen whilst we were out there, we decided to purchase a drone after an evening in the pub… we will let you draw your own conclusions from that! At the time, we knew nothing about drones. We had never even seen one, let alone flown one.

Heading back out into the Australian wilderness, we started to take some shots of the landscapes surrounding us. Looking back at the images we had captured, we realized we had a number of extremely unusual photographs that loosely reminded us of abstract artworks. As a result, Abstract Aerial Art was born.

The Zipper

What gear and accessories are you currently using?

We have two drones, a DJI Phantom 4 Pro and a DJI Mavic 2 Pro. The Phantom 4 Pro is the drone responsible for the majority of our work and in our opinion, the best drone currently available for a balance between quality and practicality. We initially brought the Mavic 2 Pro as a backup drone to the Phantom 4 Pro. However, we have found ourselves using it more and more in recent times, primarily for its practicality.

Each has their benefits but they are both capable of shooting extremely high-quality stills and videos. We also carry a Canon 5D MK4 and a GoPro Hero 7 for ground-based shots and behind-the-scenes video stuff.

Accessory-wise, we have very little other than the PolarPro Cinema Series filters for both drones. We consider them a must-have for anyone serious about shooting quality content from a drone (disclaimer: they are brand ambassadors).

Aqua Phone

Some of your shots are incredibly unique, whether they’re close up or display an entire landscape. How do you find these places?

We dedicate a huge amount of our time to meticulously researching the planet for things that interest us. Almost every single image we have ever taken has been found during these research sessions. Only on very few occasions have we stumbled across something by accident out in the field.

When we say research, what we are referring to is using satellite applications to search for things that we want to photograph. We then screenshot these finds and save the coordinates of the location with the intention of shooting it for real at some point in the future. The process can be frustrating, even mind-numbing at times, but, in our opinion, it is absolutely essential to finding interesting places to photograph.

Thanks to apps such as Google Earth, the whole world is visible from an aerial perspective. As a drone photographer, you can imagine how useful that is! Using this method to find unique places to photograph is something that we cannot recommend highly enough if you are interested in getting into aerial photography. We have written a blog post on our website that includes some photo examples of how we go about this research process if you’d like to find out some more information.

Riding Solo

From what I’ve noticed, you’re always traveling around the world for your art. How do you monetize your work so you can keep shooting in new locations?

Whilst we are always exploring new avenues for potential income from our work, we currently have two main sources of income. Both are online.

Print sales – We have an online shop on our website where prints of our images can be purchased on different materials at a variety of price points.
Image licensing – We sell licensed, digital content to brands and businesses for commercial usage. Our images have been purchased by customers for a wide range of purposes including advertising, printed media, and website design.

Burnout

Your work has a distinct style. When and why did you decide to focus on abstract art?

As we touched on earlier, the initial shots that we took in Australia loosely reminded us of abstract artworks and it was purely that which inspired us to explore how bizarre the world could look from an aerial perspective. To this day, we are blown away how surreal even the most mundane objects, structures, and landscapes can look from above.

All we have ever wanted to do since taking those first shots is focus on trying to shoot something different. As beautiful as the more well-known locations are, there is still a whole world out there still waiting to be discovered and the more we find, the more we realize we are yet to scratch the surface.

Skyline

What image or series are you the proudest of?

The image we are most proud of is entitled ‘Skyline.’ The planning behind the shot took over 6 months. It all started on a completely unrelated shoot during which we had seen the shadows cast by these enormous ships under the right conditions. On our return home, we immediately set about working out how, when, and where we could best perfect the shot we had in mind.

There were so many variables that all had to be exactly right for it to work. These included sun positioning, tidal depths, wind speeds, and extremely precise angles. After a huge amount of research, we set off from the UK and drove into Europe arriving at our destination just before sunrise. Waiting until the ship we had chosen was in the correct position and the morning sun had risen high enough to cast the defining shadows, we sent out the drone to start taking pictures. After all the previous months’ planning, the actual shot was done within 15 minutes.

Fire and Fury

What is the craziest situation you’ve been in while shooting?

Whilst driving through the Australian outback during one of the many wet season storms, we encountered a bolt of lightning strike the bushland surrounding us and set it alight. In an instant, we found ourselves at the centre of a raging wildfire. With very little consideration to the incredible danger we were in, we couldn’t resist the chance to jump out and capture Mother Nature at her ferocious best. Setting up the camera in what must be the quickest amount of time we ever have managed to achieve, we began photographing the scene.

Five terrifying minutes later, we had a shot of the wildfire and a lightning bolt in the same frame. We managed to get out of there just before our car was completely engulfed by flames. In hindsight, it was probably the most stupid thing we have ever done. That being said, it was a unique opportunity to capture something that few people will ever witness and despite the very obvious dangers, at the time, we thought it was well worth the risk.

Another Planet

I’m not going to use the clichéd phrase ‘bucket list,’ but I’m curious to know where you have not been yet or what you consider a dream shoot?

We would love to photograph volcanic activity, especially lava. It has always been something we have just wanted to see, let alone have the opportunity to photograph. We are currently in the process of working out what we could do creatively with it, and how and where we are going to do it. There are obviously many challenges involved but these challenges are one of the many reasons we enjoy what we do so much.

The Maze

What advice would you give to aspiring photographers, whether it’s aerial or ground-based?

The best piece of advice we can give any budding photographer is simply ‘love what you do.’ With the modern-day pressures of social media recognition, it’s very easy to forget those four simple words. We cannot express how grateful we are for the continued love and support we receive on social media and truthfully, it’s unlikely we’d even be in the position we are today without it.

That being said, from day one, we have never let that dictate what we wanted to shoot. That will never change. We photograph the things we do because we love it. Expressing yourself through any creative process is meant to be fun. Never let what you think others might find popular take your work in a direction that does not reflect you and your happiness.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Flat Lay Photography – How to Make Yours Stand Out from the Rest

18 Feb

The post Flat Lay Photography – How to Make Yours Stand Out from the Rest appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.

If you’re on social media, you may have come across flat lay photographs. They have become very popular over recent years and can be successful scroll-stoppers on sites such as Instagram when done properly.

What is flat lay photography?

Simply defined, flay lay photography means a photograph where the subject/s are arranged on a flat surface and photographed from above. It is also sometimes called the bird’s eye view.

The surface and the lens are positioned parallel to each other from a vertical distance apart, and therefore, no angles are visible. The surface is flat, and the image shows a singular dimension taken from a parallel position above the surface.

However, this does not mean that your image should look flat. This article will discuss factors that contribute to achieving interesting flat lay photographs without the image looking necessarily flat, especially if that is not your intention.

dps-how-to-do-flatlay-photography-successfully

f/2.8 ISO 1000 SS 1/125

What can you shoot in the flat lay style?

Because flat lay photography is a style or a format, you can shoot just about anything! The only consideration is the size of the subject.

If you had a drone camera, for example, then you can shoot landscapes and mansions in a flat lay fashion, much like aerial photography.

However, drone photography is not only limited to aerial photography. You can use a drone to capture normal objects in flat lay format. What is generally available to us are mobile phones and digital cameras, which are small. So they can limit the size of what we can shoot given the vertical distance requirements.

People

You can photograph people lying down on the grass or on the bed from above, and that would be considered flat lay.

Newborns are easier to photograph from this angle because they are small. You can capture their entire bodies plus a background from a short distance, such as the newborn images below.

f/4 ISO 1000 SS 1/125 Off-camera flash in a strip softbox to the side and a reflector on the opposite side

Objects

You can photograph just about any object in the flat lay style. Smaller objects grouped into a space together is the simplest way of doing this.

The photo below required very little styling, and I photographed it in a bright and evenly-lit space; hence there are no dominant shadows in the photo.

f/1.8 ISO 400 SS 1/160

Food

One of the most common subjects photographed in this style is food. A plateful of food is small enough to snap a picture of so quickly. It often requires minimum styling, especially if you are dining in a restaurant, as often the food is already presented well on the plates.

Instagram is peppered with food photos, both styled and unstyled, and flat lay can add the wow factor without much effort.

The photos below are unstyled and are quick snaps of the food served at a reception. I photographed these indoors with directional on-camera flash as the rooms had little light.

f/4 ISO 2000 SS 1/125

Flowers

I love photographing flowers. They are packed with texture and color and offer limitless styling possibilities. The top photo below, I shot on the floor in a hotel room. I wanted to capture the invitations styled with the flowers and needed more distance, so I used a wide-angle lens 24-70 at around 35mm.

Below is a photo of two bouquets taken from the bird’s eye view. These bouquets are fairly big, so I had to stand up and take the shot with the bouquets on the floor.

When taking flat lay photos using a DSLR and a heavy lens, it is quite difficult to keep all the gear steady while shooting straight down without a tripod. This is the reason why I rarely go below 1/125 sec shutter speed when doing so.

f/2.8 ISO 1000 SS 1/160

Jewelry

Another one of my favorite subjects to use when photographing flat lay style is jewelry. I love juxtaposing jewels and metallic textures next to soft fabrics of various kinds. The layering of textures injects lots of interest in an image.

This brings us to some tips on how to enhance flat lay images, so they don’t look boring and too flat.

f/2.8 ISO 400 SS 1/160

Tips

In my opinion, the handiest and easiest equipment to use when doing flay lay photography is your mobile phone. It’s light, has a versatile lens (which also has a fairly wide-angle), and you don’t even have to set the settings yourself! It’s super easy.

However, some phone cameras are better than others, so you can’t guarantee how good your photos turn out – especially when available light is fairly low.

Lighting

Whatever camera you use, the first, and in my opinion, the most important consideration to take is lighting. Make sure there is ample light, so your subject is well lit. You can opt for a bright and airy look with hardly any shadows, or choose a moodier look using shadows.

I like having directional light that casts some shadows because I feel they add another dimension to an image. The easiest way to check where your dominant light is coming from is to look at where the shadows fall.

On the baby photo below, the room was bright and airy. I positioned the baby on the bed, away from the window. However, the main light comes from a huge window on the left. As you can see, the shadows fall on the right. However, because it is quite a large light source, the shadows are subtle.

f/4 ISO 800 SS 1/160

I snapped the photos below using natural light coming from a window, but a smaller window this time to achieve a dark moody look.

f/2.8 ISO 400 SS 1/160

If you want to eliminate shadows altogether, you can use a reflector opposite the main light to counteract the shadows. Alternatively, use a lightbox to light the space evenly.

Layers

The photo below is a social media advert for a brand. I shot it with a mobile phone that has a mediocre camera. While I have applied a filter to it, both resulted in rather grainy photos. However, they were clear enough for the brand to be happy with them.

In terms of lighting, ample light came from a side window and a velux window above. However, I wanted more of an impact, so I created layers of color and objects.

There’s the dark blue background as the first bottom layer, the fairy lights and decorations on the table as the second layer, the product as the third layer, and finally, hands as the fourth and top layer.

Layering increases the dynamic in a photo and makes it more interesting.

mobile phone photo

Another way of creating layers is to use a very shallow depth of field. This creates an illusion of infinity for the background.

The below photo is of a rose on a vase with centrally-positioned rings to be the topmost layer of the image. However, you can’t see the surface where the vase sits because of the shallow depth of field and the use of a macro lens. In this case, I used the 60mm and shot at close range, which when using a macro lens, produces background compression and bokeh.

f/7.1 ISO 1000 SS/ 1/125

Composition

Composition is of utmost importance as it can make or break a photo.

Every photo has a certain type of composition used in them, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Well-executed composition elevates the level of success of a photo because composition plays a significant role in engaging and connecting with the viewer.

The photo below uses the rule of thirds – one of the simplest yet strongest compositional structures there is. Alternatively, the photo below it shows a centered composition.

f/1.8 ISO 400 SS 1/200

It is easier to play around with composition when you have a variety of objects to use. Take the photos below where the labels and invitations were used along with the flowers to create different compositions.

f/2.8 ISO 200 SS 1/250

Color and contrast

The key to creating successful visual images when you are limited to a flat lay dimension is color and contrast.

A darker background creates a strong contrast against lighter or brighter objects, thereby allowing enough separation to give an illusion of multi-dimensionality, as shown in the photos below.

f/4 ISO 1000 SS 1/200

Where color might be too subtle to create a bold pop, utilize contrast with a variety of textures instead.

As shown in the photos below, delicate flowers lay against a weathered wood grain and pastel-colored invites against rough concrete.

f/2.8 ISO 200 SS 1/200

Style

There are a plethora of styles you can use when photographing flat lay. Illustrated in the photos below are two opposite styles: elegant and minimalist (top two photos) and homely and maximalist (bottom photo).

f/5.6 ISO 800 SS 1/200

f/ 5.6 ISO 2000 SS 1/160

For website purposes, I shot the photos below as a clean branding style against a seamless white background.

f/5.6 ISO 400 SS 1/125 using off camera flashes

Conclusion

I hope this article has given you ideas on the different ways you can capture an image using the flat lay photography style. Flay lay photography is a super-creative medium – the possibilities are endless. You can achieve some high impact photos if done successfully.

Do you have any other flat lay photography tips you’d like to share? Alternatively, do you have some flat lay photographs you’d like to share? If so, please share them with us in the comments section.

The post Flat Lay Photography – How to Make Yours Stand Out from the Rest appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.

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Shutterstock founder Jon Oringer is stepping down from his role as CEO

14 Feb

Jon Oringer, founder of stock image company Shutterstock, has announced plans to step down from his current role as CEO after 16 years. Oringer won’t be leaving the company, however; he’ll transition to a new role as Executive Chairman of the Board. Stan Pavlovsky, Shutterstock’s current President and COO, will take over the role of CEO starting on April 1.

Oringer announced the news in a Medium post on Thursday, explaining that Shutterstock has ‘reached a pivotal juncture in our growth trajectory […] our business has grown and evolved to a point where we could all benefit from a CEO that has a different set of skills than I have.’

I’m excited for my new role as Executive Chairman of Shutterstock: https://t.co/znNfYqVryw

— Jon Oringer ? (@jonoringer) February 13, 2020

Shutterstock was launched in 2003 out of Oringer’s small New York City apartment and the company has managed to be profitable every year since. Pavlovsky joined the company in 2019, bringing what Oringer says is ‘the ideal skill-set and mind-set to take our business to the next level and it is all of these qualities that gave us the confidence to elevate him to COO, President, and now CEO.’

The news comes alongside Shutterstock’s Q4 2019 financial results, which reveal that the company made $ 166.4 million in revenue, a 3% increase over the same quarter in 2018. However, the company’s net income dropped by 63% to $ 20.1 million in 2019. Over the last few years, Shutterstock has seen its market cap drop from a 2014 peak at around $ 3.5 billion down to less than $ 2 billion.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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This 120 medium format camera and 4×5 large format camera are made from 35mm film cassettes

13 Feb

What do you do with all of the extra 35mm film canisters you have after getting your film developed? Well, if you’re photographer Alireza Rostami, you turn the film canisters themselves into cameras.

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For his latest project, Rostami took hundreds of empty 35mm cassettes and taped them together to create the structure needed to make a pair of ‘Unity’ cameras: a 4×5 large format camera and a 120 medium format camera that uses what appears to be a Mamiya RB67 lens and film back. Above is a gallery of the two cameras, both as a final product and in progress during the build. The below gallery shows off a few of the test photos captured with the cameras:

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In an email to DPReview, Rostami says the symbolic idea arose while dwelling on the idea of ‘peace and unity’ after reading through The Diary of a Young Girl, a collection of writings kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding with her family as the Nazis occupied the Netherlands. Because of this inspiration, Rostami says he dedicated the pair of cameras to the late Anne Frank and George Eastman, a man who’s inspired Rostami through his drive and innovation throughout his career.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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10 Tips for Switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

12 Feb

The post 10 Tips for Switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

Capture One Pro 20 was launched recently, with improvements to the Basic Color Editor, noise reduction, and other tools and features. It offers improved DNG support and has added functionality with several cameras. If you’ve been thinking of switching from Adobe Lightroom to Capture One Pro, now may be the time.

Capture One Pro color grading tools are unparalleled and the ability to work in Layers gives you more options in your workflow.

If you’re nervous about the learning curve associated with yet another piece of software, don’t worry – knowing Lightroom will give you a great foundation for learning Capture One Pro.

Switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

The two programs basically work the same in that they allow you to make edits non-destructively by saving them in a database and keeping track where the images are stored.

Here are ten tips that will help you when switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro.

10 Tips for Switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

1. Import your Lightroom Catalog

The fact that you can migrate your Lightroom catalog into Capture One Pro is a great nudge to make the switch. It’s a simple process that involves only a few quick steps.

Migrating will not have an impact on your Lightroom catalog, and you can continue to use it as you normally would.

One thing to note is that while edits such as Exposure, Highlights, Shadows, White Balance and Rotation will be imported seamlessly, every single adjustment might not translate. This is often the case with some color settings.

For a step-by-step guide on how to migrate your Lightroom Catalog into COP, go here.

Capture )ne pro-Tips for Switching from Lightroom

2. Familiarize yourself with the Capture One interface

There is a big difference between the Lightroom and Capture One Pro interface.

While Lightroom has separate tabs for the various workspaces such as the Library and Develop modules, Capture One has an all-in-one workspace. Instead of jumping around from module to module for specific functions, all of the tools in Capture One (COP) are at your fingertips.

The various panels in COP are called Tools. They are organized under various Tabs.

10 Tips for Switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

One awesome feature is that you can actually mimic the Lightroom workspace until you familiarize yourself with the program and decide how you want your workspace to look.

To do this, simply go to Window->Workspace->Migration.

switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

3. Customize your tools

The key to getting the most out of Capture One Pro’s awesome functionality is to customize your tools. The tools in COP are highly customizable, which is another bonus to switching from Lightroom.

You can move the tools around and you can set up a Tab containing only the tools you regularly use.

For example, you can move your White Balance Tool to the Exposure panel, similar to how it’s set up in Lightroom.

Right-click on the Tab to add a tool or remove it. You can also float your tools by dragging them onto the image itself.

switching from lightroom to capture one pro

4. Catalogs and Sessions

Capture One offers two management systems: Catalogs and Sessions. Both have their pros and cons.

As far as organization goes, a COP Catalog is similar to a Lightroom Catalog. Think of Sessions as being similar to Lightroom Collections, but with additional functionality.

Catalogs are most suitable for organizing large volumes of images, whereas Sessions are used for individual shoots.

Sessions provide a simple, folder-based workflow. They give you the ability to browse any folder on your computer without having to import images. Your adjustments are placed in a subfolder next to the images.

switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

Sessions are great for on-set workflow and tethered shooting, and are generally seen as the more efficient option. Sessions allow you to store all the files from a single project together.

Once you have migrated your Lightroom Catalog into COP, you can build and structure your photos into sessions if you choose.

When you create a new Session, Capture One creates five folders on your hard drive. It creates a main folder with the name of your session. This folder contains the following:

Capture: contains the RAW files
Output: contains converted JPEGS, TIFFS, etc
Selects: images you’ve marked as a “select”
Trash: images you’ve deleted during capture.

Any images that you delete during your COP session will go into Trash, but won’t be deleted from your disk until you physically delete them from this folder.

I use both Catalogs and Sessions. My recommendation is to use Catalogs based on genre.

Or if you shoot only in one or two genres like I do, you might want to separate commercial work form editorial work, stock photography, or personal photos, for example. Create an organizational system that works for you.

5. Get to know the Color Editor

Many photographers who make the switch from Lightroom to Capture One Pro say that the color quality is unparalleled by any RAW editor out there, especially when it comes to natural-looking skin tones. In fact, it has its own editor for skin tones.

If you’re used to the HSL sliders in Lightroom, the color tools are an area that will feel very new to you and may require some getting used to.

Color Editor – Tool Icon

10 Tips for Switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

You can use the Color Editor with masks. It’s split into three tabs: Basic, Advanced, and Skin Tone.

The Basic Tab is divided into eight color ranges, represented by a color wheel, and one that encompasses the whole spectrum. Here you can use sliders that affect Hue, Saturation, and Lightness.

To work on a certain color, click on the Eyedropper Tool and then click on the color in your image you want to edit. Sliding vertically on the area will affect the Saturation. Sliding horizontally affects the Hue.

In my image below, I worked individually on the oranges without altering anything else. This comes in handy when you’re working on a photo with various hues of the same color, by helping you target only those colors you want to alter.

10 Tips for Switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

6. Practice working with Layers

One of the best features that Capture One Pro has to offer is the ability to work in Layers.

These layers are similar to the layers in Photoshop in that they work with masks, but they function like targeted adjustments in Lightroom.

Masks determine where on the layer your adjustments will be applied. You can create masks in multiple ways. For example, you can brush them in, just like with the Adjustment Brush in Lightroom.

Click on the brush and paint over the area you want to work on. By default, the area will be indicated in red. It will only show up when you’re painting unless you hit the shortcut “M” to keep it on permanently.

You can use the shortcut key “E” to erase any areas that you want to subtract.

You can make changes to exposure, contrast, clarity, saturation etc.

10 Tips for Switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

Be sure to name each layer when working with multiple layers to keep track of the various edits you’ve made to your image.

To do this double-click on the Layer name and type in a new name.

10 Tips for Switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

7. Play around with creating style

Are you used to working with Presets? Capture One Pro offers the same capability – another reason not to hesitate about switching from Lightroom.

What you know as a Preset in Lightroom is called a Style in Capture One Pro.

Capture One Pro also has “presets,” but they include only one Tool and are accessible from within that Tool. Styles contains several Tools to create a pre-determined look.

The same way you can purchase presets from various third-parties, you can also purchase Styles from Capture One Pro/Phase One.

To test out some free sample Styles, go to this link from Capture One Pro.

8. Copy your adjustments

You can copy your adjustments from one image to another, just like you can in Lightroom.

Go to the upper-right-hand corner of the interface and click on the arrow up icon.

Click the arrow down icon to paste them to your images.

switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

9. Try Process Recipes

Process Recipes are similar to Export presets, but you can select several at one time. Once you set them up, they can make your workflow a lot quicker and more efficient. No more tinkering with dialog boxes!

Each recipe includes the output file format information and location information. There are also options for watermarking, metadata, and sharpening, etc.

You can create a specific process recipe for images that you want to export for social media use, with lower resolution and optimal pixel dimensions for social sharing.

Or you can create a recipe for printing your images for your portfolio or for postcards to send as promotional pieces. You can even export multiple recipes at the same time by checking off their respective checkboxes.

You can find Process Recipes under the Output Tool Tab noted with green in the screenshot below.

switching from lightroom to Capture One Pro

Note that COP has created some Process recipes to get you started.

10 Tips for Switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro

To create a new Process Recipe, click on the arrow in the lower right-hand side of the panel. Rename it with any name you like – for example, “Instagram.”

It will give you all the options for exporting the photo, as seen in the first picture, including the Output Location and Output Naming conventions.

10. Try shooting tethered

One of the best things about switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro is the outstanding tethering ability.

Although Lightroom has improved its tethering capabilities in the last couple of years, it’s still buggy and has a tendency to crash. COP leads the way in tethering in the photographic industry with its instant tethered capture technology.

With tethered capture in Lightroom, your camera also goes to sleep when you’re not using it. This is a massive pain if you’re working in a studio with a client. COP stays open as long as you keep the tethering session open.

You can also use Live View and Layout Overlays. This is really handy if you’re shooting a magazine cover or product packaging where you have to work around the placement of text.

Lightroom doesn’t have Live View functionality unless it’s paired with camera proprietary software, such as Canon EOS Utility. Capture One Pro, on the other hand, allows you to use Live View with natural light or strobes at the click of a button.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these tips have given you a better idea of how easy it is to make the switch from Lightroom to Capture One pro.

Only you can decide which RAW editor is for you. However, with its reputation for color quality, all-in-one workspace, and tons of ways to keep you organized and make an efficient workflow, Capture One Pro is totally worth checking out.

You can try a 30-day free trial to help you decide.

The post 10 Tips for Switching from Lightroom to Capture One Pro appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

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How to Create a Portfolio Template in Photoshop and Profit from Layer Types

10 Feb

The post How to Create a Portfolio Template in Photoshop and Profit from Layer Types appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

Your portfolio is your presentation card. It should always be current with your latest works, coherent with your style and accessible to your clients. Perhaps there’s one on your website, another one printed, and one for pitch presentations. All of them need to be up to date. So, how do you keep up with that? Create a portfolio template that is easy to update that you can scale to different formats.

Keep reading to learn how to create a portfolio template in Photoshop.

Create a Portfolio template examples

While Photoshop is a fantastic photo editing software, it does have some tools that are useful for graphics work too. This will relieve you of the task of having to learn another program like Illustrator. One of the best things for creating a portfolio template is profiting from the characteristics that each type of layer can offer. You can use Vector Layers for your design and logos, Text Layers for all the information, and Smart Objects for your images.

Let’s go through it step by step.

The fundamentals

First of all, what is a Layer?

When you open a new project, whether this is a blank canvas or a photograph, it opens as an image layer by default. This is the base that you build upon. You can then add as many layers as you need.

Imagine that the Layers are paper sheets that you can stack. Each one will then modify, add or block the content of the ones below. The properties of each layer depend on the type of layer it is.

Photoshop Layers in Perspective

Layers are one of the most versatile and useful tools in Photoshop.

There are many types of layers, some are stand-alone layers like images or vectors. Others work only in combination, as Adjustment Layers.

The important thing to understand is that each one has different characteristics that can be used to simplify your life. Here I’ll discuss the ones I find most useful to create a portfolio template.

The template

Designing your template

The first thing you’ll need is to draw the design of the template. Here, you can decide the elements and colors you want to use. Because this is a template, it should be able to fit most images and situations. So, you might want to keep it simple, but this is up to you.

In any case, every element that you design is best drawn with the Shape tool. Doing this creates a vector layer by default. To make sure of this, check that the menu in the options bar is set to Shape.

Create a Portfolio Template with Shapes

This is important because, unlike images, vectors are independent of resolution. This gives you the advantage of modifying the elements without losing quality, as you would do with pixels. This is why most graphic programs, like Illustrator, work with vectors. Shapes and vector layers are also great for creating your logo.

Adding a logo

If your logo consists of many shapes, select all of them and turn them into a Smart Object by right-clicking on top and then choosing Convert to Smart Object from the menu.

This is a different type of layer, not only can you scale it as many times as you want – just like the vectors – but you also retain the source data so that you can work non-destructively.

Because of this, every time you open your Smart Object, you’ll still find all the original shape layers to work on them independently.

Create a portfolio template with smart objects

Another cool feature from smart objects is the possibility to link one or more copies.

This means that every time you modify your logo, it will automatically apply the changes to all the copies. This is useful if your design includes more than one logo. To do this, create a copy of the layer by dragging it to the Duplicate Layer button at the bottom of the panel.

Create a logo with smart objects

If you want to keep your copies working independently from each other, you can create a copy of the smart object that it’s not linked. Do this by using New Smart Object via Copy. You can find it in the menu that pops up when you right-click on the layer.

Create a portfolio template with logo

Adding text

This is as straightforward as it sounds. When you use the Text tool, it creates a Text Layer. Keep in mind that because it’s a different kind of layer, not all the tools are available for use. For example, you can’t use the filters.

If you want to use them, you will get a prompt asking you to “rasterize the layer.” This will turn it into an image (a pixel layer). You shouldn’t do this if you want to be able to edit the text in the future. If you do want to rasterize your layer, make a copy of it first and turn off the original by clicking on the “eye” next to the layer in the Layers panel.

Create a Portfolio Template Rasterize Layers

Another useful tip when designing your template is to confine the space for your text, so it doesn’t ruin your design if you change or add content later.

Instead of just clicking and typing, click and drag a rectangle text box where you want the text to be. That way, whatever you type adjusts to that space. I usually put one next to the image to add all the information like title, technique, and project. Then I can update it for every image.

Create a portfolio template

Adding images

The photos are the stars of your project, so you want to make sure to work non-destructively on them. The best choice for this is the Smart Object.

To add your photo as a Smart Object layer, you have to go to Menu->File->Place. Because in my design, I added a rectangle to serve as a frame for my images, I can now add a Layer Mask to fit it inside without losing any information.

create a portfolio template for your photography

You can do this by placing the smart object directly on top of the rectangle shape designed at the beginning. Now create a Clipping Mask by pressing Cmd+Alt+g (Ctrl+Alt+g on PC). The Mask will reveal the image through the frame without cutting it or changing any of it.

Create a portfolio template

To update the images, you can open the Smart Object and place the new one there so that you don’t change the Layers or Masks of the template.

Save and close

Because you used Vectors, Texts, and Smart Objects, you can change the resolution from web to printing as many times as you want while keeping the quality of it. Just be sure to save each page of the portfolio separately, so you don’t overwrite your template.

Conclusion

I hope that you have found How to Create a Portfolio Template in Photoshop and Profit from Layer Types useful for creating your own portfolio templates.

Remember, save each template as a PSD file so that you can go back and utilize them again when you want to update your photos or text. Saving as a PSD file retains all of your layers so that you can access them and change them easily. If you save it as a JPG or another lossy format that flattens the layers, you will no longer have the ability to edit them.

If you have any other tips for creating a portfolio template, please share them with us in the comments below.

The post How to Create a Portfolio Template in Photoshop and Profit from Layer Types appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

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How to Jump from Lightroom to Photoshop and Back Again When Editing Photos (video)

01 Feb

The post How to Jump from Lightroom to Photoshop and Back Again When Editing Photos (video) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this video from Phil Steele of SteeleTraining, you’ll learn how you can jump from Lightroom to Photoshop and back again when editing your photos.

In this tutorial you will learn:

How to make the jump from within Lightroom to Photoshop so you can do more detailed editing using layers, and then bring the photo back to Lightroom.
About making multiple jumps or nested jumps.
How this function works with RAW files versus JPG files.
What the different options mean in the “Edit in Photoshop” dialogue box when editing JPGs.
A workaround to open your original, unedited RAW file in Photoshop.
How to add text to your photo in Photoshop.
How to Save the file and how to change the default settings of the file saving format.
Why you should use only “Save” and not “Save As” when in Photoshop.
The process that Lightroom uses to save and retrieve your image.

Multiple jumps (or roundtrips)

You’ll learn:

What happens when you make multiple round trips (jumps to and from Lightroom to Photoshop and back) with the same file.
The best format to choose after you have closed Photoshop and decide you want to keep editing your edited photo.
What setting to choose so that you don’t loose further adjustments made in Lightroom when jumping back to Photoshop.
The trade-off of jumping back to Photoshop for a second time after making further edits in Lightroom but with a sneaky work-around.
How to make “virtual copies” of your image in Lightroom.
How you synchronize settings from one image to another in Lightroom.

Nested Jumps (or roundtrips)

You’ll learn:

How to jump from Lightroom to Photoshop and then from Photoshop to third-party software such as Luminar.
How to merge multiple Layers into a single Smart Layer so you can open in a third party program/plugin.

PSA: Download your photos from Canon’s Irista platform by the end of the day before they disappear forever

31 Jan

Back in October, Canon announced it was shutting down its cloud-based photo platform, Irista. Today is the final day the platform will be live, so if you have any photographs still on the platform that you would like to download, you will need to do so by the end of the day, as the platform will no longer be accessible after today.

As noted in our original coverage, all of your photos can be downloaded as a ZIP folder using the ‘Download Your Photos’ link on the Irista homepage. It’s worth reiterating too that none of the tags, photo ratings, titles or albums you have assigned to the images will be downloaded alongside the images.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Magic Plate quick-release plate makes it easy to toggle from landscape to portrait

31 Jan

A new Kickstarter campaign from Silence Corner is seeking funds for ‘Magic Plate,’ a new quick-release plate that enables photographers to quickly switch between landscape and portrait shooting. Magic Plate is CNC machined from aerospace-grade aluminum, is compatible with most Arca gear and includes a 14″-20 UNC screw in addition to a quick-release button and strap slots.

This quick release plate doesn’t need to be removed from the ball head, according to the team behind the product. Instead, users can toggle the camera from landscape to portrait mode by pressing the plate’s quick-release button, rotating the camera and then locking the plate into its new position. The device is more compact than L-brackets and lighter at only 40g (1.4oz).

Silence Corner’s Kickstarter campaign is offering the Magic Plate in Silence Black and Corner Gray color options for pledges of at least $ 55, a 32% discount off the anticipated retail price, assuming the product makes it to market. Magic Plate is expected to start shipping to backers in April 2020.

Disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Posts Tagged ‘from’

Sony Xperia Pro development

Interview: How brothers at Abstract Aerial Art creates masterpieces from above

The Congregation

The Vault

The Zipper

Aqua Phone

Riding Solo

Burnout

Skyline

Fire and Fury

Another Planet

The Maze

What is flat lay photography?

What can you shoot in the flat lay style?

People

Objects

Food

Flowers

Jewelry

Tips

Lighting

Layers

Composition

Color and contrast

Style

Conclusion

1. Import your Lightroom Catalog

2. Familiarize yourself with the Capture One interface

3. Customize your tools

4. Catalogs and Sessions

5. Get to know the Color Editor

6. Practice working with Layers

7. Play around with creating style

8. Copy your adjustments

9. Try Process Recipes

10. Try shooting tethered

Conclusion

The fundamentals

The template

Designing your template

Adding a logo

Adding text

Adding images

Save and close

Conclusion

In this tutorial you will learn:

Multiple jumps (or roundtrips)

Nested Jumps (or roundtrips)

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