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Apple is quietly introducing new features, improved support for RAW photos in iOS 12

08 Jun

It wasn’t one of the standout details featured on stage at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) earlier this week, but improved RAW photo support is coming to the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 12.

Apple doesn’t seem to have many details on what new features or functionality will be included in the final version of iOS 12, set to be released later this year. But with a little digging through the iOS 12 developers beta on a 12.9” iPad Pro, we’ve been able to discover a handful of improvements.

As of iOS 12 Beta 1, most of the changes appear to be related to the import workflow.

Now, when you plug in Apple’s SD card to Lightning adapter (or camera connection kit), the Photos app will show up as an overlay on whatever app you’re using. This comes as a much less invasive method than previously used in iOS 11, wherein whatever app you were in would be switched over to the full-screen Photos app for importing. It also means you can multitask more efficiently, importing photos while getting other stuff done.

As for the import module, at surface level it doesn’t appear as though much has changed. But thanks to a few UI changes, importing photos and videos has become a lot easier and has taken out a lot of the guesswork previously required.

Now, when photos are detected on a card, iOS 12 will automatically sort through the content and determine if any of the photos have already been imported. If they have, they will be put in a separate area so you don’t accidentally import duplicates. Another new feature is a counter on the top of the screen that lasts you know how many photos are being displayed and how much space they take up on the memory card. This should help alleviate the guesswork involved when trying to determine whether or not you have enough storage on your iOS device.

The importing progress bar can be seen in the upper-right-hand corner of the screen.

There’s also a new progress circle that appears when importing. If you tap it as photos are being imported, you’ll get a counter that shows how many photos have been importing out of the number you’ve selected.

One of the most welcomed new features we’ve come across is the ability to preview your photos full-screen. Before iOS 12, you could only see small thumbnails of photos when importing, which made it all but impossible to select a particular image in a sequence if there wasn’t much visual difference. Now, you can pinch out on a thumbnail and see a full-size preview.

The full-screen preview makes it easier to choose between similar images.

The last improvement we noticed was in importing speed. In testing, we noticed a rather drastic improvement in how fast photos transferred from an SD card to the iPad Pro. Based off 25MB RAW files, imported using Apple’s latest SD card to Lightning adapter, the transfer rate jumped from 1.2 seconds per photo on iOS 11 to approximately 0.8 seconds per photo on iOS 12 Beta 1. We’re not sure what particular magic is going on here, but that’s a 33% improvement.

As future iOS 12 betas are launched, it’s inevitable more features will be brought to light. If we come across anything else in the meantime, we’ll update this article accordingly. If you notice something we missed, be sure to let us know in the comments below.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Kodak teases first sample photos of Ektachrome

05 Jun

Kodak

Kodak Professional has posted a video to its Instagram page and a few sample photos to its Facebook page teasing the first test images taken with its revived Ektachrome slide film, as well as images of what the packaging will look like.

Back in January 2017, Kodak Professional announced it was bringing back its beloved Ektachrome slide film from the dead. Since then, the only major update we’ve heard is from back in 2017, when a few higher-ups at Kodak Professional detailed the progress it had made on bringing the film back from the dead on the Kodakery podcast.

Ektachrome 100: Our Development team is still working hard on the update! In the meantime, here are some successful test photos from our pilot-scale equipment. #KodakProfessional #Ektachrome #Ektachrome100 #Photography

A post shared by Kodak Professional (@kodakprofessional) on Jun 3, 2018 at 6:33pm PDT

Now, we finally have something to look at. Alongside a video that slideshows through 12 different images, including color cards, sample shots, and photos of the packaging material, the Kodak Professional Instagram account writes, ‘Ektachrome 100: Our Development team is still working hard on the update! In the meantime, here are some successful test photos from our pilot-scale equipment.’

As a few Facebook and Instagram commenters have pointed out, the sample images appear a bit grainy in the video. Kodak Professional replied, saying the video did appear to make the photos appear more grainy and less impressive than the stills. They said to see more accurate samples, to check out its Facebook post, embedded above, which includes three sample images seen in the Instagram video.

There’s still no definitive date on when the public launch will be, but seeing test photos means we’re one step closer to seeing it back on the shelves.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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5 Framing Tricks to Help You Capture Better Landscape Photos

05 Jun

Landscape photography is one of the most popular genres of photography and for good reason. A great landscape photo has the power to wow the viewer and captures the beauty of the incredible planet that we live on. But landscape photography is also difficult to master as not only are you often at the mercy of the elements, but you are also fighting against the limitations of digital cameras versus the human eye.

As advanced as digital cameras are, they are still no match for your eyes and that sometimes means you feel let down when you look at photos you’ve taken. A big part of this could be as simple as framing your shot correctly. So here are 5 framing tricks to help you capture better landscape photos.

sunset over a valley - 5 Framing Tricks to Help You Capture Better Landscape Photos

1. Add a Sense of Scale

Think about that feeling you get when you first see an amazing landscape in front of you. It’s often the sense of feeling really small compared to those towering mountains or that deep valley. But capturing that feeling in a photo isn’t as straightforward as just taking a shot of the scene. To be able to convey that sense of scale you need to help the viewer by showing them a comparison with something they can relate to.

For example, photograph a large boulder and it will be difficult for someone looking at the photo to know how big it is in reality. But put a person next to the boulder and suddenly there is an instant sense of scale. This is a great way to really make your landscape photos jump off the page and captivate the viewer.

mountain scene - 5 Framing Tricks to Help You Capture Better Landscape Photos

2. Point of Interest

A good landscape photo should lead the viewer’s eyes around the image. Sometimes to achieve this you need to add a point of interest to your image. This is especially true if you are photographing a scene where there is a vast empty area where nothing is happening.

Without a clear point of interest, the viewer’s eyes will get lost in the photo and it won’t work. For example, the photograph below would be pretty uninteresting without the people in it. But by including people not only does it add that point of interest but it also tells a much more intriguing story.

A point of interest could be anything. It can be a rock, person, animal, a tree, or a building. So next time you are evaluating a scene, think if it will benefit from having a point of interest. If so, try to frame your photo using the rule of thirds to capture this in the composition.

2 small people on large sand dunes - 5 Framing Tricks to Help You Capture Better Landscape Photos

3. Zoom In

In landscape photography, it’s really easy to try and capture everything in front of you. After all, that amazing vista is what usually wows people. But sometimes a wide-angle shot of a scene just doesn’t work because there is too much for the viewer to process. On those occasions, you need to zoom into your scene and try to capture a small section rather than the whole thing.

Think about the small section in the same way as if it was a wide-angle shot and frame up your image with the same thought process. The key is to not be afraid to forego the “big wide-angle shot” for the smaller zoomed in section. Remember that you can always try a few different crops and then decide on the best one later in post-production.

But don’t make the mistake of just capturing wide-angle shots and relying on cropping in post-production as the more you crop an image, the more pixelated it will become if you want to print it at really large sizes. Try to actually capture some photos zoomed it with your camera instead.

green landscape scene - 5 Framing Tricks to Help You Capture Better Landscape Photos

4. Sky or Land?

One of the best ways to ensure that your landscape photos look dramatic and stunning is by focusing as much of the photo on the part that is going to give you impact. That means really considering where to put the horizon line. If you have a dramatic sky with lots of clouds, beautiful dramatic sunsets or even moody stormy weather, then place your horizon line in the lower third of the image, so you are showing more of the sky.

If on the other hand, your foreground is interesting with a good point of interest, then place your horizon in the top third of the image. Thus maximizing the area showing the foreground in the image. Just try to avoid placing your horizon line in the middle of the image where possible as it can make your photo seem uninteresting.

So always remember, sky or land? Whichever it most important to your image, show more of that part of the scene.

beach sunset - 5 Framing Tricks to Help You Capture Better Landscape Photos

5. Extreme Angles

Most people see landscapes from one particular view only – eye level view. The great thing about photography is that it allows you to capture a photo at a completely different point of view to what most people see. You don’t need to dangle yourself off a cliff to capture unique views, sometimes just being slightly lower or more elevated can have incredibly dramatic results.

For example, set your camera really low (almost on the ground) and you will capture a unique angle from a worm’s eye viewpoint. Put your camera on a tall tripod and lift it up so that it’s higher than normal eye level and again you’ll capture a unique shot.

There’s also the option of using drones these days which can give you even more stunning photos of landscapes. But make sure you always check local laws regarding drone usage. As with any type of photography, the key is to experiment.

seascape and castle on a hill - 5 Framing Tricks to Help You Capture Better Landscape Photos

Conclusion

Capturing the perfect landscape takes time, effort and usually some luck a well.

You need so many factors to be working together to capture stunning photos and even then you still need to think about how to frame all of those elements into a photograph that will do the scene justice. But once you have a great location, an interesting subject, and the perfect light, follow these framing tricks and you may well capture some stunning landscape photos.

The post 5 Framing Tricks to Help You Capture Better Landscape Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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How to do Visual Storytelling with Photos

29 May

The old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words”, essentially means that what you can see in one image would take many words to describe the contents, the action, the emotion, what it’s about, and so on. It’s visual storytelling. One powerful picture can evoke an instant response and connection. It allows people to shape what they see, tell its story to them in their words.

Think of some of the most iconic images in history – the sailor kissing the girl in a crowded street by Alfred Eisenstaedt, the Migrant Mother holding her children during the depression by Dorothea Lange, Clearing Winter Storm by Ansel Adams. They are all powerful images that tell a story with impact.

lady in an American flag outfit at a festival - How to do Visual Storytelling with Photos

Sometimes we want to tell more of a story of a place or an event, where we can take many images and tell much more of the story. This allows us to include extra detail elements, wider scene-setting shots, and have the action covered from different angles or points of view.

Doing this provides new challenges. The overall story needs to make sense, have a beginning/middle/end sequence, as well as have some action or conflict and possibly resolution. So the challenge is not just to take enough images to cover what is happening, but to then blend them into a coherent story which makes sense to the viewer.

What does it take to do visual storytelling with photos?

Here are some tips to help you increase the visual storytelling elements of your images.

Example images below

A 90-minute drive from where I live is a small village called Akaroa. It was settled in the 1840s by French settlers and later other Europeans, who shared it with the local Maori tribes. The history of the area is very important and celebrated every year with a weekend festival, starting with a parade featuring descendants of original settlers. I went along with my camera a couple of years ago and spent the weekend wandering around.

This is a context statement (see #4 below) and comments have been added to some images to provide further context.

1. Answer the five key questions

What is happening?
Who is there?
Why is it happening?
Where is it happening?
When is it happening?

In relation to the festival. first I needed some scenery shots – this is the where.

How to do Visual Storytelling with Photos - Akaroa harbour in NZ with boats and a hill

Looking back up Akaroa Harbour to the Village, with Banks Peninsula hills in the background.

bridge over a stream - How to do Visual Storytelling with Photos

How to do Visual Storytelling with Photos - main wharf in Akaroa

Akaroa main wharf.

Include any well-known landmarks in the area – things that will easily visually identify it to anyone who has been there or seen them before. This helps give a sense of place and tells more of the where story.

2. Framing a sequence of events

Instead of trying to cram everything into one big image, where it can be confusing, shoot a series of more specific shots that relate to each other and tell the story that way.

Sequencing – is there a group of images you can put together that tell their own story?

3. Story structure

Your visual storytelling needs certain elements included to help it make sense, tell the story you want it to, and engage the viewer. This is called narrative. Essential elements of story structure include:

Introduction – Sets the scene, introduces important characters, sets the tone and theme.
Plot – What is happening, who is it happening to, what are the outcomes?

What about the event? where is all the color and excitement? This is the What and the Who and the Why – which are all part of the plot.

I liked the contrast of the Maori woman and child in their native dress, against the bold red of the brass band.

Children in native Maori dress followed up by the descendants of French and German settlers in period style clothing.

Everyone enjoying the beautiful day out.

Themes – Your images should be linked in obvious, but subtle ways, to each other and this can be done in different ways:
- Visual – Repeating elements (e.g. street signs), color (have a limited color palette or always show an element of a single color in each image).
- Style – Have a consistent style in the way the images are shot or are processed, using a specific focal length or lens.
- Consistency – Shooting the same subject but in different places or situations (e.g. interesting doorways, statues, manhole covers, all in different cities or countries) or shooting the same subject over time (a pregnancy story, or engagement to wedding day story).
- Relationships – Between people or elements in an environment.

And as is traditional in Akaroa, dinner at the end of the day is fish and chips from the local shop by the beach, and ever-present seagulls fighting over a chip.

Note this isn’t the story as I would necessarily tell it visually, but examples of different shots of a place and an event to give you an idea of the things to look out for.

One of the things I did do is provide some consistency with the way they are edited, so tonally they are all the same, other than the variations in color temperature of the sun at different times of the day.

4. Context

The relationship of all the images to each other provide the overall context for the story to be structured within and therefore viewed. So when you are building your visual story you need to have an idea of the context to frame it all within. Otherwise, it could appear to be a group of random images that may or may not be visually related in some way.

It may be that a short textual description or explanation sets the scene and provides the viewer with enough context to assimilate the images within. However, that option may not always be available so plan your story so that it can stand alone on its own visual merits.

Final examples

Are there any local characters you should include? This is part of the Who.

Is there any interesting architecture that helps tell the story – like in this instance, some historical buildings?

This older building has been modernised but the date gives testament to its origins. The decorative street lamps add extra flavor.

Akaroa embraces its French history with red/white/blue featuring strongly, and many places and streets are French names.

Detail shots are also nice to include, they can add flavor to the series, and interest with different points of view. Use them to tell parts of the story.

This guy was clearly important but I didn’t catch his name.

A confession

I have a confession to make. The reality is that these images are actually sourced from about three different trips. They were not all shot in one weekend for the purpose of illustrating my point, and to a certain extent, that shows in the coherence of them.

While a story could be cobbled together from these images (or other ones in my archive) they were not all shot with the idea of craft and doing visual storytelling. That shows the importance of thinking about this beforehand and shooting with intent. It means your final outcome should be the better for it.

Summary

Event or travel photography has its own challenges, and it may not always be possible for you to think about doing visual storytelling when you are in the midst of things. Maybe you don’t have to cover the whole event or trip – maybe, just a special portion of it catches your interest. Visual stories can be small and intimate too, they don’t have to be grand scale every time. A family birthday, the local school fair or market, a day out the beach, a walk in the park on a nice evening – three images, five more shots, and a few pairs of sequences.

Hopefully, this will give you enough of an idea to start thinking about telling a story with your images, it is not something I do enough myself, and if you have any tips, feel free to comment below.

The post How to do Visual Storytelling with Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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8 Ways to Create More Dramatic Flower Photos

27 May

Do you think flower photography is boring? Or even too easy and obvious? I mean, of course, when you point your camera at a pretty flower you’re going to get a pretty photograph. Right?

But a subject that you feel is boring and easy is actually the perfect one to challenge yourself with. Can you make a flower image that is creative and dramatic somehow?

Here are a few ideas to get you started making more dramatic flower photos.

1. Dramatic light

Often flower photos are made under soft lighting conditions, either in the shade or on an overcast day. This is because of the soft and delicate nature of a flower which lends itself to that type of light.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. For a more dramatic image, try to find a flower that has direct light on it and shade behind it. High contrast scenes feel more dramatic and your flower will stand out against a darker background.

Flowers in the Light - 8 Ways to Create More Dramatic Flower Photos

2. Change your perspective

Most flower photos are made from a perspective looking right into the open flower. Try other perspectives for more interesting compositions. You can look at the flower from above, from the side, or from underneath.

To make the image below, my camera was on the ground looking directly up at the flower. Because the sky was so much brighter than the flower, it created a more high-key type of image with light shining through the petals making them appear to glow.

Looking Up flower - 8 Ways to Create More Dramatic Flower Photos

When I made the next image, I was interested in the lines created by the petals of a dahlia the size of a dinner plate. Most photos would include the whole flower, but I only included a small portion of the huge flower taken from a side angle.

Giant Dahlia - 8 Ways to Create More Dramatic Flower Photos

3. Focus through

In one of my favorite techniques for flower photography, I use a telephoto lens and focus on a flower that is around five feet away. Then I position the lens so that another flower is right in front of it. Because the close flower is extremely out of focus, it creates a soft area of color in front of the main subject.

This is especially effective if you can find two flowers that are complementary colors (opposite) on the color wheel.

Focus Through Poppy - 8 Ways to Create More Dramatic Flower Photos

4. Let the wind blow

One of the most frustrating things you encounter when photographing flowers is wind. A little bit of wind you can handle with a faster shutter speed, but sometimes the wind is just too much and your flower is blowing all over the place.

When this happens, just go with the flow! Instead of trying to get a sharp image, go with a slow shutter speed and capture the motion of the flower moving in front of your lens.

Flowers in the Wind- 8 Ways to Create More Dramatic Flower Photos

5. Environmental portrait

Most flower photos contain only the flower with no context. But you can also make an environmental portrait that shows the flower and its surrounding environment, like the one below.

Storm Flowers - 8 Ways to Create More Dramatic Flower Photos

6. Echo

Another of my favorite techniques I refer to as an echo. For your main subject, find a flower that has another virtually identical flower behind it. Use a shallow depth of field and focus on your main subject letting the flower behind fall out of focus. This creates a sort of echo of the main subject.

Yellow flowers - 8 Ways to Create More Dramatic Flower Photos

7. Less than perfect flowers

When photographing flowers, most photographers search for perfect specimens to be the main subject. But perhaps more interesting subjects are the less than perfect flowers. They can be dead flowers, ones with flaws, or even flowers that have fallen over.

In the image below, I was attracted to the raindrops that were on the side of this fallen tulip. Flowers with raindrops are not uncommon, but the tulip on its side is a bit more unusual.

Fallen Tulip - 8 Ways to Create More Dramatic Flower Photos

8. Emphasize edges in post-processing

You can also introduce effects in post-processing to make unique and dramatic flower photos. Try experimenting with textures or edge effects.

For the image below, I added an edge effect in post-processing to draw the viewer’s attention to the shape of the petals.

pink Dahlia - 8 Ways to Create More Dramatic Flower Photos

What else can you think of? Flower photography doesn’t have to be boring or predictable. In fact, any subject that you find boring and predictable is a challenge waiting for you to unleash your own unique perspective. How do you make more dramatic flower photos?

The post 8 Ways to Create More Dramatic Flower Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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You can now favorite images in Google Photos

25 May

Google Photos is the default online image management platform for many mobile and desktop users, but until now, it’s been lacking one pretty basic feature that is available in most comparable applications: the ability to favorite photos.

Today Google closed this glaring gap in the Photos feature set, announcing via Twitter that it is rolling out a feature that allows users to tap a star in the upper right corner of any photo in their library. This automatically adds the image to the new Favorites album, making it easier to manage your most cherished images.

It’s OK to play favorites. Rolling out this week, tap the ?? button to mark a photo as a favorite. Head to the Albums tab and view all your favorites in one place. pic.twitter.com/eWnSMDKQ72

— Google Photos (@googlephotos) May 21, 2018

Additionally, you’ll soon be able to “heart” photos that have been shared with you. This is essentially the Google Photos equivalent to a Facebook-like, and adds a social network element to the service.

These features come in addition to improvements announced at Google’s recent I/O developer conference, and should help develop Google Photos into a service that has something to offer for everyone—from casual shutterbugs to seasoned enthusiast photographers.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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How To Take Good Photos If You Wear Glasses

25 May

Taking beautiful photos should not be a problem for those who wear eyeglasses. When you take pictures, it’s obvious that the photographer gets as close as possible to the viewfinder to get the best view as possible. However, people with eyeglasses have a problem in doing so. If you are using eyeglasses, this problem can be solved if you follow Continue Reading

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Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool

23 May

Lightroom’s suite of editing tools is not as comprehensive as its big brother Photoshop But the program does offer a host of options for fixing photos that cover most of the corrections you are likely to need on a daily basis. You can, of course, use Lightroom for basic operations like adjusting white balance, changing exposure, and converting images to black and white. But there are much more advanced features as well, such as the Spot Removal Tool.

This tool is a quick and easy way to remove blemishes and imperfections. It doesn’t have the same level of depth and customization as similar options in Photoshop, but with a little practice, it should suffice for most situations in which you are likely to need it.

Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool - sunset photo

Fixing Imperfections

To access the Spot Removal tool, first, click on the Develop module and then press the Q button (the keyboard shortcut). Or you can click on the circle icon with a small arrow pointing to the right just below the histogram at the top of the panel on the right-hand side.

how to open the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool

Once you are in the Spot Removal panel it might be tempting to start clicking away at every spot and blemish on your images. But understanding some of the options available to you will help you use the tool more effectively and result in better edits.

The Spot Removal tool has two main options, Clone and Heal. Each of these has three sliders that you can change: Size, Feather, and Opacity. Before getting into the differences between cloning and healing, let’s take a look at the three options they have in common.

Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool - sliders

Size

This changes, as you might have guessed, how big the edit is going to be. Larger sizes are suited for bigger edits, while pinpoint accuracy can be obtained by making the tool as small as you need it to be.

You might be tempted to slide left and right to change these values, and that certainly works just fine. But you can also type precise numbers between 0-100 or just scroll up and down using the mouse wheel to see the brush automatically grow and shrink until you get it to where you want. You can also use the square brackets [ and ] on the keyboard to adjust the brush size.

Feather

This slider lets you control how gradually the Clone or Heal edits are implemented. Sliding all the way to 100 means your edits will gradually fade out near the edge of the tool. A value of zero indicates that there will be no feathering whatsoever.

This will result in a harsh edge around your edits that will be easy to spot so I don’t usually recommend it. Instead, try for a value of around 50 and adjust it to your taste. Similar to the Size parameter you can adjust this with the mouse by holding [shift] and scrolling up and down, which I find much easier to use than the slider.

Opacity

The opacity is a way for you to specify how transparent your edits will be. A setting of 100 is totally opaque and nothing will show through, whereas lower values will lessen the overall impact of the tool.

There might be instances in which you don’t want to completely remove a spot or blemish but mask over or fade it just a little, and in that case, set an opacity of 25 or 50 (this works well for portrait retouching, lightening circles under eyes and wrinkles without completely removing them).

Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool

Cloning

Hearkening back to the earlier days of Photoshop, the Clone tool is one of the most often-utilized features for beginning or even more advanced photographers who want to tidy up their pictures. The basic function is pretty straightforward since all it does at a fundamental level is copy, or clone, one part of a picture and put it on top of another part. This is great for situations with textures, patterns, or colors that are highly similar or where duplicating one portion would not be easy to detect.

Using the Clone Tool

This picture of a squirrel (below) has a stick on the right-hand side that I would like to remove. The Clone tool is a good way to do it. To fix something like this you can either shrink the tool so it’s small and brush it over the imperfection or increase the size to be much larger and click just once.

Each situation is going to call for a different type of edit but in general, I like to use a larger brush and click once because it usually results in edits that aren’t as visible in the final result.

Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool - image needing some cloning to remove a stick

This image is fine, but it would be great if that stick protruding up on the right side could be removed.

Lightroom tries its best to get your initial clone edit just right by taking what it thinks is a sample of a similar portion of your image. But as you can see below it doesn’t always work.

bad cloning job - Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool

Lightroom’s initial attempt with the Clone tool was less than ideal. You can clearly see a circle of in-focus grass where the stick used to be.

Adjusting cloning results

You don’t have to be content with the initial results though, as Lightroom lets you refine and tweak the cloning options until you’re satisfied.

There is an Overlay setting for the Clone tool. It is a white circle indicating the location from which the Clone Tool is selecting to copy. As well there is another circle showing you where it is being pasted. In the lower-left portion of the Develop module is a tiny little option picker that says “Tool Overlay” with four choices: Auto, Always, Selected, and Never. My personal preference is to go with “Never” and use the “H” key to show and hide the Tool Overlay as I need it.

As you use the Spot Healing tool you will see little gray circles pop up all over your image, which shows you the places where you have edited your image. If you don’t see these tiny pins press “H” to show them, and then click on one to show the white circles showing you where the edits are being taken from and applied. You can see an example of this in the image below.

Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool - cloning overlay

Press the H key to show and hide the Tool Overlay. Then grab the source that is being copied and drag it to another part of your image that blends in better with the surroundings of the blemish to be cloned out.

Once you see where Lightroom is grabbing the part of your image that it’s using to fix a blemish, it’s easy to fine-tune it to get the results you are looking for. Use your cursor to drag the bright circle around the image until you find a spot that would be better-suited for filling in the blemish. You can also adjust the sliders while you have your editing point selected to see in real-time what happens when you change things like size, feather, and opacity.

better cloning job - Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool

I wouldn’t say it’s impossible to tell that this photo has been edited, but most casual viewers would likely never know.

Visualize spots

One issue that you might encounter when using the Spot Removal Tool is that it’s not always easy to see where the spots in your picture are actually located. Fortunately, Lightroom has an option that can help you in this regard.

If you click the “Visualize Spots” button in the lower-left corner of the Develop module (make sure the Spot Removal tool is selected), you will see a black-and-white version of your image with areas of high contrast highlighted. If you do not see this option, activate your toolbar by pressing T on the keyboard.

You can also simply press the A key to activate the Visualize Spots view. Use the slider to fine-tune the amount of contrast visible, and doing so will show you where some of the imperfections are located that you might have missed.

Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool - silhouette with spots to remove

Some of the spots on the above image are easy to see, but others are visible only upon closer inspection. Snuffing out all the blemishes, which are really dust on the front of my camera lens, would be a time-consuming process without the Visualize Spots option enabled. Doing so makes it easy to see every mote and speck that I need to fix with the Spot Healing tool.

Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool - visualize spots active

Visualize spots activated

The finished image, after some clicking and editing, is much improved. I even decided to leave in the streak of lens flare on the left side because I liked the effect, you could remove it if you wanted to by using the same tools.

image after cloning - Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool

Healing

While similar to the Clone tool, the Healing brush operates in a slightly different way. It takes textures and tones from a source portion of your image and blends it with the area you want to fix. It’s not a direct 1:1 copy of the source, like the Clone tool, and as such it creates results that are often a little more refined and effective in terms of removing problems and blemishes.

The Heal tool has the same options as the Clone tool (Size, Feather, and Opacity) but because the nature of the tool is somewhat different. The Opacity doesn’t function in exactly the way you might expect. It still adjusts how much of the source spot is stamped onto the blemish you want to remove but because it’s blending textures, colors, and patterns even a 100 value of Opacity means that you won’t see quite the same results as the Clone tool.

Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool

To fix a picture using the Heal tool, click on any spot you want to remove (or click and drag if it’s more than just a single spot) and Lightroom takes care of the rest. If the spot is not fixed to your liking, press H to show the Tool Overlays and edit as you see fit by dragging the source that is being copied and adjusting the Size, Feather, and Opacity.

Note: One other thing you can do with the Lightroom Spot Removal tool is to draw a line or shape. Your cloning area is not just limited to a circle anymore as it once was in LR.

The picture below shows the result of using the Heal tool to remove about a dozen blemishes and imperfections on a photo of some mushrooms. All this was done in under five minutes using only the Heal tool, and it illustrates how simple and effective this type of editing can be.

Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool

The Photoshop Solution

I often use the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool to fix little things in my images, but for real in-depth editing, you might want to turn to Photoshop. There you can really dig in with layers and the advanced editing tools that program offers.

For most photographers, whether professional or casual, the options in Lightroom will usually suffice. That’s what I find myself using almost every time I need to tweak a picture. Give it a try and you might be surprised at what it can do for you too.

The post Fixing Your Photos with the Lightroom Spot Removal Tool appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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How to Take Amazing Photos Using the MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit

22 May

Water droplet photography is a dream for almost every creative photographer. When a water drop collides with another drop, it creates beautiful crowns and other shapes that look fabulous. Capturing those moments is a very satisfying experience for a photographer.

Taken by Andrea Laybauer using MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit

Until now it was not easy to create such shots, but thanks to the advancement of technology, now we have some gadgets that could make this process almost effortless for us. One such gadget is the MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit which is the world’s first water drop photography gear that can be controlled by your smartphone.

It not only controls the size and timing of drops with great precision, but it also controls your camera or flashes so that you can focus on other creative tasks like lighting, background, and different settings to create unique pieces of art.

So, let’s find out how you can create extraordinary splash photographs using this amazing device.

Photo credits: In this article, we are featuring examples done by myself, as well as three photographers and MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit customers; Andrea Laybauer (a specialist who shoots drops and splashes), Jos Daanen (a primarily wildlife photographer), and Paul Lindqvist (a specialist in food, stop-motion products, and portraits).

MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit - blue drops

Taken by Ramakant Sharda using MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit

What you need:

A Quiet Room:

First, you’ll need a room that can be darkened where you can create a lot of mess in that room. It’s better to choose a spare room as you may need to keep your equipment setup for a few days.

Camera and Lens:

You can use any DSLR camera for water droplet photography, or any other camera that has manual controls. Lens choice is important as you need one with a longer focal length and shorter minimum focusing distance so your camera is safe from water splashes but you can still fill the frame with splashes. I found that a 100mm macro lens is the best option for this project.

Flashes/Speedlights:

Next, you need flashes with manual control over power. You are going to use the flashes at the lowest power setting so you need a minimum of two flashes. If you have more, that is even better.

Taken by Andrea Laybauer using MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit

Tripod:

A steady tripod is a must for the camera so you can focus on other aspects of the shoot. You also need an extra tripod for attaching the MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit device.

Water Containers:

You may use a glass bowl, wine glass, or a designer cup. But if you don’t want to show the container in the picture you need around an 8×12″ glass tray with two-inch depth. You can get it from your local aquarium shop (or a similar baking dish).

Taken by Jos Dannen using MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit

Taken by Jos Daanen using MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit

Backgrounds:

You also need some colorful background images. Go to Google and search for “blur abstract background” and you’ll get an idea about what type of images you require. You can buy similar images from stock sites or there are some sites that provide images at no cost. You now have two options, you can print these images on paper or transparencies.

MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit:

Finally, you need a MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit to control the water drops and your camera. It comes with a holder kit so you can easily fix it on a tripod.

MIOPS splash dark

Other than these items, you need a few more things like a milky white acrylic sheet (Plexiglass) to attach backgrounds. Something to hold the acrylic sheet, a dry cloth, some clamps or clips and a shutter release cable.

Setup:

Now you have everything ready, so let’s start. First, place the acrylic sheet as the background, making sure to leave at least two feet at the back for placing the flashes. Now place a tripod at the front of this and attach the MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit on it. The distance between the background and the point where your drop will fall should be around 12-15 inches.

Now put your water container below it and ensure that the drop falls in the center of this container. Also, align your background with it.

Next place your flashes. If you are using transparencies for the background, place the flashes behind the glass, at a distance of around 12 inches. If you are using a paper background, place the flashes at a 45-degree angle on both sides. Make sure to cover your flashes with a plastic bag.

Setup using a transparent background with the flashes behind it.

Setup using a paper background with the flashes in front of it. Notice the flashes are being protected from any water drops that might splash and land on them, potentially damaging your delicate electronic equipment.

One flash will be the master and it’ll attach with MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit and the other flashes will be in slave mode so they fire automatically when the master flash fires.

Lastly, fix your camera on a tripod and attach a shutter release cable. It’s better to create this setup on a table because you need to work for a long time and if this setup is on the ground, you’ll get tired quickly.

Settings:

At this point, you may want to take a break and have coffee but if you are like me, you probably dying to see your first image. So, let’s talk about all the settings.

First, set your flashes at 1/32 power. If you are using four flashes, you may need to lower the power to 1/64 or 1/128. The lowest power setting will give you shortest flash duration and your photos won’t have any motion blur.

Next set your camera to Bulb Mode, set ISO to 100, choose an aperture between f/11-f/16 and attach the shutter release cable. Now put a pencil or something else where your drop will fall and focus manually on that spot, and leave the camera.

Taken by Andrea Laybuarer using MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit

You can also control your camera using the MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit, but it’s always better to set your camera to Bulb Mode and fire flashes instead. It will give you accurate results as there will be no shutter lag.

Lastly, you need to do the MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit settings. You are going to set the size of the first drop, the delay between two drops, size of the second drop and finally the flash firing time. Open the MIOPS Mobile app on your phone and you’ll find some settings. Set the first drop size to 25 milliseconds, the second drop size to 50 milliseconds and delay to 100 milliseconds. Finally set Trigger to 350 milliseconds and set mode to flash.

These settings are just a starting point and you need to do some fine-tuning. If your nozzle is too high or low, you need to change delay time according to that. For the above settings, the distance between nozzle and water container is around two feet.

Workflow:

Now you need to open the shutter using the shutter release cable and tap on the Start button in the app and close the shutter when flashes are fired. Since your room is dark and you are using a narrow aperture, the ambient light won’t affect the shot.

Taken by Andrea Laybauer using MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit

Taken by Jos Daanen using MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit

So, take a shot and check if the lighting is good or not. If your picture is too dark, increase the ISO or move the flashes a little bit closer. Keep in mind that you should not increase the power of your flashes above 1/32 or you’ll start getting motion blur. If your picture is too bright, lower the flash power to 1/64 or 1/128 or move them back.

Once the light is okay, take another shot and see if it’s properly focused. If not, focus again.

When everything is set and you get your first shot, it’s time to do some experiments to create different masterpieces. Change the size of drops to see what difference it makes. Remember that first drop size won’t make any major difference, it’s the size of the second drop what will create different shapes. Now change the delay time, every time you change it, you’ll get different shapes.

Now experiment with both drop size and delay between drops. Each change will give you different results. Just keep in mind that you should make small changes like 5-10 milliseconds.

Taken by Andrea Laybauer using MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit

Once you understand the process and take enough shots, experiment with different backgrounds and light positions. You can place the flashes at the back and front or you can use gels on them to get different results.

Taken by Paul Lindqvist using MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit

At last, I am going to tell you a little secret to get outstanding photos. If you add a few drops of liquid soap in the water, you’ll start getting some totally unique shapes.

So, let’s get started, please share your masterpieces in the comment area below.

More about the photographers:

Andrea Laybauer started to photograph in 2001. However, since 2009, she has dedicated herself to shooting drops and splashes. View her website here and Instagram to see more of her work.

Jos Daanen is primarily a wildlife photographer. He did his utmost best to get some collisions of droplets… For these featured photos, he ordered the MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit unit which was released at the beginning of 2018.

Paul Lindqvist is a commercial photographer who specializes in food, stop-motion, product photography, and portraits. He loves using technology to create his images, and always find new ways to use it to his advantage. View his website and Instagram

Disclaimer: MIOPS is a paid partner of dPS.

The post How to Take Amazing Photos Using the MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit appeared first on Digital Photography School.