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3 Video Tutorials – Portrait Retouching Tips Using Lightroom

06 Dec

Many of our readers use Photoshop to edits portraits, but what if all you have is Lightroom? Or you don’t know Photoshop as well? You can certainly do most of your portrait retouching using Lightroom.

Here are some video tutorials that walk you through a complete edit of one portrait from start to finish, using only Lightroom. I have also included one that I myself did too. Every photographer has their own style, so take what works for you from each and apply that to your own editing style.

#1 Extended Lightroom Portrait Edit by Adam Lerner

Photographer Adam Lerner walks you through his portrait editing process from start to finish. He will give you some tips and tricks and great hidden gems inside Lightroom that you can use.

#2 Full Lightroom Portrait Editing by Photos in Color

Ed Gregory from Photos in Color processes a portrait using Lightroom from end to end. He makes a very different looking end result so if you’re looking for some style ideas and tips this might be a good one for you. See what he does the same and differently than Adam above, and myself below.

#3 Portrait retouching in 10 minutes using Lightroom

This is my version. Having taught Lightroom in the classroom and done portraits for over 20 years, I may have some good tips for you that you didn’t already know. I’ve been using Lightroom since the beta version 0.9 or so, and it’s my go-to image editor.

I almost never pull an image over to Photoshop unless I need to do layers for something. For portraits, that may be a head swap or something where I have to blend images. But otherwise, I pretty much use Lightroom for everything, even skin, eye and lip retouching.

Your turn

How do you use Lightroom to process and do your portrait retouching? Do you have any other tips the three of us missed? Please share in the comments below.

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The post 3 Video Tutorials – Portrait Retouching Tips Using Lightroom by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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6 Tips for Capturing Action in Your Wildlife Photos

29 Nov

Even with the fastest lenses and top-end DSLR cameras, catching fast movement in your wildlife photos can be tricky. The physical speed of your autofocus may not be able to keep up with and track a moving subject. Away from the limitations of your equipment, you may find that you miss a flutter of wings or fight between two animals.

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Luckily, there are some things you can do to overcome both problems. Here are my top tips for successfully capturing action in your wildlife photos.

#1 Pay Attention to Behavioural Cues

Animals are great at giving away information about what they are going to do next. If you pay real attention to the subjects you a photographing, then chances are you’ll be able to predict the future and have a better chance at capturing something awesome on camera. You can often apply a general rule to a class of animals, rather than having to learn hundreds of different cues from all sorts of different species. For example, when a bird is about to fly off, most will first lean forwards and appear “twitchy” before taking flight.

When photographing this greenshank, I saw it bathing in a puddle in a field. From my experience, I know that birds will fluff their feathers or shake off water after bathing and preening. I composed the image properly then sat in wait with the subject in focus and my finger on the trigger. Eventually, probably after about 20 minutes of waiting, the bird stretched out its wings and I clicked the shutter.

wildlife photos

Being able to anticipate this behaviour made catching this moment possible. If I had tried to jump into action having seen the stretch, the action would have been over before I could even focus the camera. The same principle applied to the following image. I saw a black-headed gull dipping its head underwater washing itself. Soon after it finished, it threw droplets up into the air. Waiting in position made it possible.

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#2 Don’t Use Live View

The live view mode on your DSLR camera shouldn’t be touched with wildlife photos. It makes tracking very difficult, and whenever you engage autofocus the live view goes off as the mirror flips down. Because of the way you end up holding the camera, things become unstable too. Instead, stick to using your viewfinder. It is so much easier to react quickly and track your subject that way.

Two hooded crows engaged in a scrap.

#3 Use a Sufficient Shutter Speed

It goes without saying that if you have enough available light, then you should use a fast shutter speed to freeze movement. A general rule to avoid camera shake is 1 over the focal length of your camera. For example, a 400mm lens should have a shutter speed of at least 1/400th second to avoid camera blur.

However, this rule may not give you a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the subject. Animals often move quickly, so adjust it as required. 1/1000th second or more is a good bet for fast running or flying creatures. It’ll depend on what you are photographing, and how exactly you are shooting it, as to what shutter speed you should go for.

1/2000th, f/4, ISO 320

A good tip is to review your images, when possible, to check that your shutter speed is fast enough. Zoom in on the LCD and look for motion blur. If you spot any, then just increase your shutter speed.

#4 Don’t Stick to Your Tripod

If you are comfortable with handholding, then maybe you can ditch your tripod. Some tripod heads, like ball heads, can make things restrictive when you’re trying to follow a moving subject that stops and starts. Having to undo knobs to be able to move the camera slows you down.

Releasing your camera from the grips of your tripod will allow you to move freely. If you have it, then engage vibration reduction on your lens. This will help to get rid of camera shake, but you should be using a fast shutter speed so that shouldn’t prove a problem at all.

A lesser black-backed gull pins down an Atlantic puffin and steals its catch of sand eels.

#5 Use Continuous Focus

Switch your camera to continuous focus mode so that you can track focus with a moving subject. If you continually have to refocus manually because your camera locks onto a spot once it achieves focus, then you’ll probably find you’re always one step behind the animal. Continuous focus mode will keep the plane of focus shifting.

Be sure to dive into your camera’s menu and find the setting which chooses whether achieving focus or pressing the shutter gets priority. Set it to the shutter, and then you can ensure you are able to fire off frames at the opportune moments.

#6 Lay in Wait

If you find that your equipment’s focusing motors are too slow and you can’t keep up with a moving animal, then you should change your approach. Look for patterns of behaviour, such as a route an animal may take regularly. Chances are there will be places where they pause. Focus there, and point your camera straight at it. Lay in wait, and once the animal moves into view, fire the shutter.

An Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) coming in to land at its burrow on the Farne Islands, Northumberland.

If you’re following a bird in flight, try setting your focus to a plane the bird will pass through. Pan along with the animal (you’ll need to be in manual focus by this point), and hold down the shutter to utilise burst mode as it passes you. Hopefully, one of the shots will be in focus if you’ve timed it right. You’ll need to do this a number of times to adjust the focal plane to the optimum distance, and then have a bit of luck on your side!

The post 6 Tips for Capturing Action in Your Wildlife Photos by Will Nicholls appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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4 Tips to Leverage Natural Light Using Just your Camera and One Lens

29 Nov

In photography light is everything. Without light, whether that be artificial or natural, there is no photography. The problem is that sometimes there is just too much or too little, and in both cases, artificial light may need to be added. But what if you don’t have any artificial light available to you? And what if all you have is literally a camera with a lens and nothing else? This article focuses on how you can leverage natural light using just one lens and working without a reflector or a speedlight.

#1 Position your subject in relation to the light

Let’s take a look at these photos below. It was a very sunny day and I wanted to capture the blueness of the sky and the sea as well as the people in the shots. I had a D700 which has a base ISO of 200 and the 50mm 1.4 lens. I have provided the settings below for each photo.

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f/5.6 ISO 200, 1/2000th

f/5.6 ISO 200, 1/1250th

f/6.3 ISO 200, 1/2000th

These settings are okay on a very sunny day if you shoot with the sun positioned behind you shining towards your subject. In this case the sea and sky, which also illuminated the people that I wanted to be in the photo.

Lighting position

While these photos are fine, there are a few issues. First, put simply, when this is the lighting position, anyone, and any camera can take these types of photos. You can shoot in automatic mode and the photos would look the same. Mobile phones nowadays can take even more amazing photos in this situation where there is a huge amount of light hitting the subject and the background directly.

I love these types of photos for travel photography, high contrast shots and snapshots that would make me remember such scenes. But if I am after portraits, would I hire a professional photographer who would give me photos that anyone can take? Definitely not! Sure, the occasional lifestyle snapshot in this lighting is acceptable such as this one directly below shot at f/2.5 ISO 200, 1/2500th. But I would not want proper portraits of my family to be taken in this lighting situation.

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Harsh shadows

The second issue is the harsh shadows. As a professional photographer, this would never be my lighting position for people or portraits. Even if the sun was coming in at a side-angle, undiffused sunlight directly hitting the subject still produces harsh shadows and hotspots. I would prefer for the sun to be behind the subjects, also known as backlighting, rather than directly in front of them.

If your intention is to take nicely lit portraits with a background that is not blown out, for backlighting to work, you would need to have a big enough flash or reflector to illuminate your subject to avoid silhouettes. Conversely, you can simply expose for your subject but you will have to blow out (overexpose) the background. Therefore, you end up with a white sky rather than a blue sky.

An example of backlighting is this sunset photo below. The houses and the boats were not illuminated. I was too far away for my pop-up flash to be of any help, and I didn’t have a tripod for a long exposure and smaller aperture. But I still wanted to capture some of the soft sky color along with the sunset. Balancing the exposure was tricky and I ended up shooting this image with the following settings; f/5, ISO 200, 1/320th. While the ambient light of the sunset was captured, the other elements in the photo were too dark and ended up almost like silhouettes.

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What if you have nothing else but a camera and lens with you? You do not want all your photos to be silhouettes when shooting backlit, or too dark when shooting in the shade. So what you can do is leverage your surroundings by positioning your subject carefully in relation to the light. If you have to shoot backlit portraits in a situation similar to above, shoot an intentional silhouette or use your flash for fill light (more on this below).

If you’re doing portraits where you want to focus on well-exposed faces, avoid positioning your subject where they are facing the sun which results in harsh light and shadows. On a very sunny day, you may want to wait for the golden hour – the time shortly after sunrise or before sunset – when the sun is much lower on the horizon and the light is much softer. This yields a light that is much more flattering for portraits. If it is a bright but overcast day, the clouds act as a huge diffuser and the shadows are not as harsh so it is easier to photograph portraits in those conditions.

#2 Look for ideal light

Ideal light is often indirect, reflected, or subtractive light. This can take various forms:

Indirect lighting can be the soft diffused light coming from a window.
Reflected light can be that bouncing off a white floor, wall, bright sand, or from white or light-colored clothing you are wearing.
Subtractive light can be achieved by blocking the light with a diffuser, umbrella or a flag (any flat black object large enough to block any direct light hitting your subject).

Get out of the sun

As this article does not involve any equipment other than your camera and lens, instead of blocking the light, I positioned my subject in the shade. So that instead of subtracting light from my subject, I subtracted my subject from the light and put her in the shade.

In this example below, it was a very bright day and I did not want any direct light falling on my daughter’s face. I put her completely in the shade but deliberately next to the caravan wall which was light beige. There is some reflected light from the side that helps illuminate her face and the generally shadowed area we were in.

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In this photo below taken in the zoo, there was no natural light at all. A fluorescent light illuminated the box where the snake was. You can see this white light reflected on the top part of the snake’s eye (catchlight). I waited for the snake to get into this position and used the light which was bouncing from the ceiling onto him to get this shot.

creative-ways-available-light-with-the-50mm_0000

In this photo below, there was no ideal light! We were in a pretty darkly shaded area and the enclosure was mottled with spots of sun and shade. I positioned myself where I knew I could catch a good close up of the tiger in complete shade and waited for it to pass by. The contrast between the light and shade was so strong that had I taken the photo of the tiger with his body in half sun and half shade, it would not have come out well at all.

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#3 Use your pop-up flash as fill light

Now I know that photographers are sometimes funny (and snobby) about using the camera’s built-in pop-up flash. I am one of those photographers, with good reasons. The camera’s pop-up flash blasts light directly onto your subject. It gives you a rather flat and unflattering light with a harsh shadow around the jaw and head to boot. Unless your intention is to shoot like this such as some fashion houses do (and they do it so professionally by the way), then this is a no-no in portrait photography. Ideally, you want the light bounced and angled – anything but aimed directly from the camera toward the subject.

However, I do use my pop-up flash quite a bit! In fact, I use it when I don’t have a flash gun (speedlight) and I’m shooting backlit, especially when the sun is strong. And I have no qualms using it as a direct light in this situation because the camera’s flash is not strong enough to overpower the sun anyway. So the most you get out of it is a little bit of fill light.

Take this photo of the monkeys below. Had I not used my pop-up flash, there would have been no detail captured on the monkey’s face at all. The sun was too powerful that the pop-up flash could never have flattened the face and created harsh shadows anyway, and I was also too far away from the monkeys for that to happen.

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Using the pop-up flash is a fast and easy way to add light. Just be mindful of the caveats and be circumspect when using it.

#4 Try long exposures to capture natural light

Shutter speed has everything to do with ambient light regardless of whether you are doing long exposures or using on-camera, off-camera, or pop-up flash. In fact, with regards to the latter three, flash exposure is completely unaffected by shutter speed.

With long exposures, you can take photos even when very little light is available. You need a tripod, or something steady and flat to rest your camera on like a table or chair, and you’re good to go. So why would you want to slow down your shutter speed and when must you do it? Do it when you want to capture the ambient light.

Armed with just a 50mm and the camera placed on a steady surface, I slowed my shutter speed right down to a few seconds using the bulb setting. I may have captured the moon rising but the sky is pitch black and not enough ambient light was captured. My shutter speed might have been slow but not slow enough. Ambient light was very crucial here because there were stars in the sky.

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In contrast to the above, the photo below is the same scene photographed with a much slower shutter speed so that the stars are visible.

creative-ways-available-light-with-the-50mm_0000

Even with just the 50mm you can photograph the starry sky such as below. However, don’t go over 10 seconds as you would then start capturing the star trails.

creative-ways-available-light-with-the-50mm_0000

Using shutter speed wisely and skillfully is a great tool for capturing mood, color, and ambient light, even when there is very little of it. There is some light you don’t ever want to kill such as the soft evening light just after sunset. These photos were taken simply with a camera with a 50mm lens at a slow shutter speed, a wide aperture, and a fairly high ISO (as I was on a slow moving boat). These images were shot at; f/2.5, ISO 2500, 1/100th. A faster shutter speed would have killed this light and rendered the sky pitch black. Too slow I would have run the risk of blurry photos due to the moving boat.

creative-ways-available-light-with-the-50mm_0000

The post 4 Tips to Leverage Natural Light Using Just your Camera and One Lens by Lily Sawyer appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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8 Advanced Street Photography Tips to Get You to the Next Level

23 Nov

In photography, teaching and learning can only get you so far. At some point, you will get to a skill level where it’s up to you to put in the time and effort to continue improving. However, dedication and self-learning aside, here are some advanced street photography tips that I think can help you significantly improve your skill level in this area.

1. Use your eyes instead of the viewfinder

When photographing, it is very common for people to look straight into the viewfinder and forget about the world around them, but this can make street photography tougher. Your vision through the viewfinder is hindered significantly, and that can hurt your ability to capture spontaneous moments. You need to see everything that is happening around you. This will help you to anticipate the special moments that are about to occur in front of your camera.

Your eyes are the real viewfinder, and you will be able to notice much more if you use them. Scan the area and look for subjects that are both near and far. Wait until you notice something with your eyes, then put your viewfinder to your eye to capture the moment. If you start with your head in the viewfinder, by the time the moment happens, your ability to notice it will be a half-second too slow.

2. Embrace spontaneity

Suits, SoHo, NYC

This was one of the early tips that Garry Winogrand received in his photography education that set him on a path to become one of the most renowned photographers of all time. You should certainly spend a lot of time thinking about your work and what you like to shoot, but when you are out there going through the motions, embrace your gut feelings. Instead of worrying about every little detail and thinking about if you are doing a good job or not, put that all aside and have fun.

There is no need to worry about what other people will think. If you feel like there might be a chance for a good photograph, then go for it, no matter how weird the image may be. Don’t let your brain talk you out of it. That gut feeling exists for a reason, so use it to your advantage. If you use your instincts and shoot confidently, that will show in your photographs. They will feel more real and more you. Of course, you will probably take more bad photographs as well, but the good ones will be that much better. Trust your gut.

Keep in mind that some people may take this suggestion too far and machine-gun fire their camera every time they have an inkling that there’s a good photograph. That’s taking this tip too far. Turn off continuous shooting and make sure that you are able to recognize and capture tha moment with a shot or two.

3. Think about how your photos are going to age

Cellphone Fashion Shoot, Soho, NYC.

It is important to think about your work in a historical context. Think about classic photographs and what makes them special. Simple old photographs of window displays and fashions look incredible, but those photographs might have seemed very ordinary back then. If you could go back in time to photograph, what you might see as interesting then would probably be much different than what most photographers were shooting at that time.

What about your life and area is going to be interesting in the future? What is going to change? Are people still going to be staring at their cell phones every second with huge headphones on and completely disconnected from reality? Who knows, maybe?

Try not to take anything for granted, and if you notice yourself disregarding something, then think about why you feel that way. Occasionally, these situations can make the best photographs.

4. Create themes and consistency in your photography

Cellphones, Greene Street, SoHo, New York

The more you shoot, the more you will notice that you are attracted to certain types of photographs. Find these consistencies when you are editing and embrace them. Over time, these ideas can blossom into full-fledged projects and books.

Group these images together into collections, and think about the type of photographs that you would like to add to them. Then the next time you come across a moment that fits into that category, you will be quick to notice and capture it. Each individual photograph is a piece of art, but a collection of photographs is its own work of art. Play with the order of your photographs and the meaning that comes out with different sequences of them.

Consistency does not mean that you can’t photograph different types of subject matter or in both color and black and white. You can be very diverse in how you shoot, and you can change and evolve as you go along, but you can still group these consistencies into projects that fit well together.

5. Repetition

Lower East Side, New York.

The real key to improving your photography is through repetition. It is necessary to photograph frequently to keep your eyes sharp and your hand-eye coordination ready. Your instincts will improve. The more often you do it, the better you will be. Keep the rust away. Even the best photographers need to continually photograph to keep their skills up.

The more you learn to enjoy the act of photographing, the easier it will be to walk out the door to shoot more. Photography shouldn’t be about feeling inspired or uninspired. You do not need to feel inspired to photograph if you enjoy the act of walking. Create a plan for how often you will photograph, just like the gym, and stick to it. Over time, it will become routine and your enjoyment for it will continue to grow.

There is no need to worry about coming back with good photographs. That is going to happen, and you shouldn’t feel sad if you didn’t get anything good in a session. The good photographs will come, but if you feel frustrated too often, then that will affect how you photograph. Just enjoy the process of being out in the world doing something you love. The more you enjoy that, the better you will be.

6. Photograph where you live

No matter where you live, whether it’s in the middle of a big city or in a small suburb, use that as a backdrop for a project. That is the area that you frequent the most, and know the best. Go to places that you think would be incredibly boring for photographs and figure out how to get a good photograph there. Don’t take things for granted. Absolutely anything can make a good and beautiful photograph. All it takes is dedication.

7. Emotion and gesture

Jerry Delakas, Astor Place Newsman.

As photographers, our job is to pass on an idea or an emotion to the viewers of our work. How you do that is something for you to figure out. Search for feeling and emotion when you are shooting. Aim to create evocative photographs.

If you are photographing people, it is important to capture them when they are portraying an emotion. This can be shown in a facial expression, what they are doing, or the gesture of their body. Sometimes, you will capture a unique looking person with no emotion or gesture and that will ruin the photograph. Other times, you will capture someone that you did not think would be a good subject, but the emotion shown on their face make the entire photograph. When you photograph people, this emotion is vital to focus on.

8. Zone focusing

Lower East Side, New York City

Zone focusing is the toughest technical skill to learn in street photography, but it is very important to learn. At first, you will screw up a lot of photographs, but over time it becomes a more accurate way of obtaining sharp photographs.

Zone focusing works particularly well in busy areas, but it can be used any time once you get good at it. I tend to zone focus 60% of the time and autofocus the rest. If your subject isn’t moving and you have time to autofocus, it is always good to do that as it will guarantee perfect focus. But the rest of the time zone focusing can be the way to go.

What is zone focusing and how is it done?

This strategy of zone focusing is basically just using manual focus your camera and guessing the distance to subjects. Because of this, you will need a distance meter on either your lens or in your camera. You then want to turn your camera (or lens) to manual focus. Set the focus at a certain distance away from the camera. I prefer 8-10 feet, although I will do a smaller distance if I’m in a really busy area where people are closer together. Next, figure out how far that distance is away from your camera, and now you know that everything at that distance away from you will be sharp.

Zone focusing can be done well at very large apertures, even f/2, but it becomes much more difficult to do well. This focusing strategy works much better with apertures of f/16, f/11, and f/8 and a wide-angle lens such as 35mm. That will ensure there is a large depth of field in your image (make sure to also raise your ISO to achieve this and still keep an adequately fast shutter speed). Thus, there will be a significant area both in front and behind of the spot that you are focused on that will all be in sharp focus. This helps for situations where you miscalculate the distance when the perfect moment happens and it’s not exactly where are focused, and when you have multiple subjects at different distances that you want to be relatively sharp.

This is why it is always good to start off zone focusing in bright sunlight with a wide-angle lens. This will allow you to shoot at f/11 or f/16 so that a lot of your image will be sharp and you will barely have to worry. Set your focus to 8 or 10 feet away and pay attention to your subjects more than your focusing. It is a very freeing feeling, and the extra time you save not having to focus will aid you in catching those spontaneous and instantaneous moments that appear before you.

Conclusion

If you want even more street photography tips, check out: The Ultimate Guide to Street Photography (you can even download it as a PDF).

What things to you practice to up your street photography game? Please share your comments and images in the section below.

If you’d like to learn more about Street Photography, then please check out my ebook The Essentials of Street Photography.

The post 8 Advanced Street Photography Tips to Get You to the Next Level by James Maher appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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4 Tips to Supercharge your Lightroom Workflow

23 Nov

In this article, we’re going to look at four tips to help you supercharge your Lightroom workflow and post-processing. Then you can spend more time doing what you love, photography!

The issue

Going through several hundred pictures after a photo session can seem so daunting and time-consuming that it becomes more of a chore than an enjoyable and creative part of the photography process. It’s those late nights staring at a collection of pictures on your computer monitor, sipping the last drops from your cold mochaccino long after the whipped cream has melted away, that can suck all the fun out of photography. It can make you want to up-end your workstation, chuck your gear in the trash, and look up the price of desert island real estate so you never have to edit another picture again.

Fortunately, most image editing programs have some type of photo management built-in to help streamline your editing. Lightroom has a set of tools that have been honed over many years of iterative development to really assist you when it comes to trimming precious time from your post-processing workflow. There are four specific techniques that can help you, and those just getting started in the field. Together they can save you time and maybe bring back the artistic spark that may have been lost over the years.

You can help me save time in Lightroom? Tell me more!

Can you help me save time post-processing in Lightroom? Tell me more!

#1 – Create your own presets

Most people know that Lightroom has a fairly extensive offering of built-in presets, and you can even buy additional sets like the ones we offer here at dPS. But as useful as those are, they might not meet your specific needs as a photographer. If you’re like me you, tend to use presets as a starting point and then tweak your images ad nauseam, but sometimes even getting to that starting point can be tricky.

Enter the wonderful world of user-created presets! Lightroom lets you save any combination of adjustments in the Develop module as a Preset that you can apply to any photo at any time. I find this really handy when doing my initial photo imports. I like the RAW files from my Nikon D750 to have a little bit of added vim and vigor right off the bat. So upon import, I usually apply a preset I made called “Nikon RAW Import” that adjusts black, white, and shadow levels along with a few other parameters. It gives me a nice starting point for almost any image and is a great way to save time when editing.

supercharge-lightroom-workflow-custom-presets

How to save your own presets

To create your own presets go to the Develop module and change the value of your sliders, adjust your tone curve, dial in your preferred level of sharpening and noise reduction, and you’re 90% finished. After you have an initial set of edits created go to the Develop menu and choose “New Preset.” Select the parameters you would like to include in the Preset and then click “Create.”

Your Preset is now ready to go and you can apply it with one click to any image, or to a batch of images. Do so by selecting them (from the thumbnails) in the Develop module, right-click on them, and choosing “Develop Settings > User Presets > [Your Preset name].” You can also apply it to all your photos on import by going to the right-hand side of the Import screen under the “Apply During Import” option. Where is says “Develop Settings” pull that menu down and find your preset from the list.

supercharge-lightroom-workflow-preset-import

As a bonus, you can even share your Presets with others by navigating to the folder on your hard drive in which they are stored (“Preferences” menu > Presets > Show Lightroom Presets Folder), copying the file with your Preset data, and sharing it with anyone you choose.

Read more here: How to Create Your Own Lightroom Presets

#2 – Sync edits across multiple photos

Photographers are going crazy over this! You can save all sorts of time in your Lightroom workflow by using this one weird trick! I know that sounds like a cheesy click-bait title from a sidebar you might see on a used car website, but in this case, it’s really true.

On many photo sessions you will end up with dozens of images that are relatively similar and thus can often benefit from the same types of adjustments. Let’s say you shoot a wedding and have 20 really nice images of the groomsmen getting ready and adjusting their superhero-themed vests in the church office. You could easily spend 5 or 10 minutes adjusting the white balance, black levels, highlights, color saturation, and noise reduction. You finally get one of the photos looking, as Goldilocks might say, “Juuuuust right,” and then realize you still have nine more to go. At which point you start looking up how much your 70-200mm lens might sell for on Craigslist because you know this is going to be another one of those editing sessions that involves way more late nights and cups of coffee than you had initially planned.

How to sync your processing settings

But wait, there’s hope! To instantly sync the edits from the first photo to all the rest which are similar, select the initial image in the filmstrip view at the bottom of the Develop panel. Then hold down the [shift] key while selecting all the rest and click the “Sync…” button in the lower-right corner of your screen.

You can pick and choose which edits you want to sync, and with the click of a button, all the other images are instantly edited just like the first one. BAM! Time saved: infinite. You’re welcome.

Alternatively, you could use the Copy/Paste function to copy edits from one picture to the next, but that only works with a single photo at a time. I have found the Sync option to be far more useful, you may as well.

Using the Sync option saved my bacon on this photo shoot. I had so many pictures to edit that synchronizing the changes made things go much faster.

#3 – Use the White Balance Eyedropper

When I first started out with digital photography I was the kind of person who wanted to do everything myself. Auto mode? No thank you camera, I’ll set the exposure myself. Autofocus? I don’t think so. Automobile? Not me, I prefer to walk!

Over time, I learned to let go of some of these tendencies with one glaring exception. Setting the white balance on my RAW files in post-production, stuck with me far too long.

Setting the proper white balance is the foundation for almost any photo editing. If you fiddle with the Temp and Tint sliders long enough you can usually get a good result. The trouble is that takes a long time, especially when working with hundreds of images. It can take a lot of trial and error, and guesswork to dial in just the right white balance. Unless you let Lightroom do most of the heavy lifting for you.

White Balance got you down? The Eyedropper is here to help.

Using the eyedropper

Nestled quietly on the left-hand side of the Basic panel in the Develop module is a strange icon. It looks like a medieval dagger or possibly a light saber that can’t decide whether it’s meant for a Jedi or a Sith. It’s actually an eyedropper. Using on it can help you out immensely when it comes to finding the proper white balance for a RAW file.

Click the icon and find a spot on your photo that is slightly gray (neutral). Not totally pure white mind you, but a little off-white to give Lightroom a reference point as it calculates the value of how the rest of the colors in the image should look. What it does is neutralizes any color cast or shift in that area. A half second later and voilà! Your picture is now properly white balanced, but if it doesn’t look quite right you can tweak it with the sliders. Using the eyedropper isn’t a surefire guaranteed method, but it almost always gets you right on the mark or very close to it.

One click and…bam! Instant white balance.

#4 – Flag/Reject when culling images

I was just talking with a friend recently who takes a lot of pictures of his kids with his DSLR. He told me that one of the hardest things for him to do is go through his images and remove the bad ones. His solution was to simply not delete any at all.

If this sounds like you, whether you’re professional or amateur, and you just can’t quite bring yourself to tap the [Delete] key when browsing through your photo library – Lightroom is here to help.

You might do a family portrait session and get 20 pictures with just mom and dad, 50 that you took in burst mode with the kids sitting on their lap. Then a couple hundred from when the family invited their pet ferret to join the shoot. Some of your images would be easy to discard due to being out of focus, poorly composed, or overly pernicious polecats deciding to climb atop dad’s carefully crafted coiffure. But what about the rest? The ones that are all pretty good while also being quite similar?

So many photos, so little time…

How to flag images in Lightroom

As you scan through your library in Lightroom, you can use the arrow keys to move from one image to the next, and the P and X keys to mark images as keepers or rejects. Tap P (pick) on a picture to adorn it with a white flag, and tap X to mark it with the Tiny Black Flag of Shame denoting a rejected image.

A Flagged picture is one that you have highlighted as particularly good, while a Rejected picture is not worth your consideration. Marking an image as Rejected does not delete it so you can always go back and look at it later. But it serves as a signal to you as you are culling, that you don’t need to consider it. You can also use the filter bar at the bottom of the screen to show only those images that are Flagged, Unflagged, or Rejected by clicking on their respective icons. If you accidentally mark an image incorrectly, press the U key to remove the Flag/Rejected status.

Filter them

You can also use the filter bar at the bottom of the screen to show only those images that are Flagged, Unflagged, or Rejected by clicking on their respective icons. If you accidentally mark an image incorrectly, press the U (unflag) key to remove the Flag/Rejected status.

Once you mark your images as Flagged or Rejected, use the filter icons to choose which photos to display.

Using the Flag/Rejected markings has significantly decreased my editing time, and will likely dramatically lower yours as well. In a similar fashion you can use the number keys 1-5 to mark images with one to five stars, and numbers 6-9 to label images with different colors. I find these less handy than simply using the Flag/Rejected method when doing the initial culling, but far more useful when deciding, for instance, which images are the Best of the Best and worth printing, sharing, or showing to clients.

Over to you

I hope these tips have been helpful. Certainly, there are many more options for helping your Lightroom workflow go a little smoother that we simply don’t have the space to cover in one article. What are your favorite tips? Please share your ideas, tricks, and shortcuts in the comments below!

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5 Quick Tips to Help You Make a Fashion Photography Shoot Like a Pro

15 Nov

It might be the fabulous pages of magazines or it might just be that urge to create something chic. Either way, we are now living in this digital era where fashionable shoots are just around the corner. Hashtag #OOTD (outfit of the day). But that’s where the similarity ends. Planning and executing a fashion photography shoot takes more than that.

Fashion shoot photography

I hate to break it to you, but placing all your good looking friends in front of your camera, and purchasing the latest mirrorless technology probably won’t make you the next Guy Bourdin. From my personal story as a fashion photographer for over five years now, your biggest learning experience comes from learning through your own team, fellow creatives, photographers, stylists, models, and make-up artists. So, here are some tips I’ve learned through my years of trials and tribulations on how to produce a fashion shoot like a pro.

1. Inspirations 101

“Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I’ve ever known.” or so the saying goes. Nowadays, let’s challenge the concept of people stating there’s no such thing as originality anymore. Is that true? But truthfully, the best ideas may not be the first ones.

Find Inspiration fashion shoot

Creativity is a limitless concept. You can always start developing your ideas by sourcing inspirations from practically anywhere. When you start noticing the littlest things in your life, it will do wonders as your source of inspiration. This is fundamental because it is the ground work before every shoot. To develop a concept that is strong and authentically yours is the key to the next step of creating the perfect frame in a fashion photo shoot.

Find Inspiration fashion shoot 2

2. Team Work is Everything

Create your perfect squad. When you meet someone you are comfortable working with, continue to develop a great relationship with them. Because at the end of the day, the perfect frame is not just in the hands of the photographer. Everyone needs to be equally involved and the greater the chemistry ultimately leads to the perfect picture.

Make sure you succeed in getting everyone on the team on the same page, from the vision for the shoot to work ethics. A solid team of creatives that gel well together is really ideal because in the end, it’s all about teamwork.

Team Work fashion shoot 02

Team Work fashion shooot

3. The Look

A fashion shoot is never complete without the right model. You need to find a model who has the right look for the concept. Whether it’s height, hair color, skin tone, eye shape, etc. Bonus points if you get to know the model first beforehand. Good chemistry between the photographer and model is also very important to create a comfortable shooting environment.

When you are shooting, there’s only the photographer, the model, and a camera. Putting on a music that’s enjoyable to everyone can also help the model get into character.

result-fashion-shoot

4. Scouting Locations

Outdoors or indoors, it’s crucial to prepare everything beforehand. You don’t want to be stressed out on the big day right? When it comes to studios, the physical environment has to be a positive working environment. Think about how much space you need, equipment, facilities, etc. An outdoor fashion shoot are tad trickier. Always double check if you need to have permission beforehand if it is a private area, and always, always check the weather! The sun can be your best friend or your enemy in this case.

Location Scout fashion shoot

Locations Locations fashion photography

5. Hair, Makeup and Wardrobe

This is where the good team work really shows. I personally think it is important to get everyone on the same page for the vision and mood of the shoot. Also, don’t be afraid to voice your opinion if something can be altered. Such as the hair is too big, the model needs more mascara, the button’s falling off, etc. Don’t be afraid to speak up, it’s team work after all.

Make Up fashion photos

Hair Make Up fashion shoot

Lastly, never forget to have fun! It’s always a blessing to be able to work passionately. Enjoy your ride along the way, stay curious, and bring positive vibes. Good luck.

Please share your fashion photography tips and photos in the comments below.

The post 5 Quick Tips to Help You Make a Fashion Photography Shoot Like a Pro by Sally Ann and Emily May appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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7 Tips for Doing Crystal Ball Refraction Photography

15 Nov

You’ve have heard of reflections in photography, but have you have tried refraction? When used well, refraction creates compelling images that will leave your audience both wowed and curious. I’ve been approached many times by strangers who are curious about how I photograph with a glass ball. Once you’ve mastered this type of photograph you’ll likely get the same audience. Here are some tips to help you do crystal ball refraction photography.

$Doing Crystal Ball Refraction Photography - house inside glass ball$

The subject shows prominently in the ball, and around the ball is bokeh.

So what is refraction?

Refraction happens when light passes through an object of denser mass, such as water or glass. When this occurs, light is bent, and there is a distortion. When refraction occurs with a transparent spherical object something magical happens. An inverted image of the scene behind the ball is seen. The lens elements in your camera actually work this way as well. You can use a glass ball as an extra lens element, one you can move around your scene.

$Doing Crystal Ball Refraction Photography$

How to do refraction photography

Now you know what refraction is, it’s time to learn how to apply it to your photography. If you follow the guide below you won’t go far wrong with this type of photography.

#1 – Dealing with the upside down image

There are instances where it works to have an upside down image in the background or inside the ball. If you want to avoid this, the best way to deal with an upside down background is to blur it out using bokeh. An alternative to blurring out the background is to use reflection since the reflected image will be the right way up inside the ball.

$Doing Crystal Ball Refraction Photography - The image inside the ball will be upside down.$

The image inside the ball will be upside down.

#2 – Get above your subject

You should get the ball off the ground so it’s level with the subject you’re photographing. A centered subject in the ball will have less distortion and more impact in the frame. There are always exceptions, of course, as leaf beds or puddles work well when the ball is placed right in them.

#3 – Fill the glass ball with your subject

You have to get close to your subject, or it (they) will appear very small inside the ball. The best advice I can give here is to see if your scene would fill a wide angle lens. If so you’re gold.

$Doing Crystal Ball Refraction Photography$

In this photo, the cityscape is captured inside the ball, and a closer framing was employed.

#4 – Choose the correct lens

The best option here is to use a macro lens or a telephoto lens with macro capability. The macro lens will allow you to get close to the ball, making it easier to create bokeh around the ball. Using a wider angle lens can also work if your scene allows it.

#5 – Choose the correct aperture

You need to get the correct aperture for your scene. An aperture that’s too small won’t blur out the background. One that’s too large will make it hard to get a sharp image inside the ball. I would choose an aperture of around f/4, it depends on the scene you are photographing, though.

$Doing Crystal Ball Refraction Photography$

One of the best ways of dealing with the upside down image is to use reflection in the photo.

#6 – Find a safe place to position the ball

This is very important, especially if you are photographing from a high vantage point. The ball needs to sit on a flat surface, finding a crevice to sit the ball on is better. Once you have placed the ball ensure it isn’t going to fall and keep your hands near it during this time.

If there is no place to rest the ball you can ask a friend if they’ll hold the ball for you. You need to be especially careful on a windy day, a strong gust of wind can move the ball if it’s not in a secure position.

In this photo of the Taj Mahal there is reflection in the background, and this reflected image is in fact upside down.

In this photo of the Taj Mahal, there is a reflection in the background, and this reflected image is in fact upside down.

#7 – Lighting the subject in front of the ball

You should have a well-lit subject in any kind of photo, but it’s even more important with refraction photographs. A strongly lit subject will shine through the ball with less reflection appearing on the ball. Look to photograph when the sun is behind you or during blue hour shooting towards lit buildings.

Refraction photography versus a standard landscape

A lot of locations that suit refraction photography with a glass ball will also be good for regular landscapes. The question is why photograph a refraction photo when you could take a wide-angle shot of the same scene? Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of crystal ball refraction photography.

Pros of refraction

A glass ball is cheaper than a lens and allows you to create a fish-eye like effect.
You can move the ball to different positions in your scene.
Using a large aperture in conjunction with the ball to create bokeh, is great for minimalism.
Scenes created with a crystal ball often have a more artistic feel.
The ball creates a natural frame for your photo.

Images that work well as a wide angle photo also work well inside a crystal ball.

Scenes that are well suited for a wide-angle photo also often work well inside a crystal ball.

Cons of refraction

The larger glass balls are heavy to carry, in an already heavy camera bag.
You need a macro lens, something a landscape photographer may not normally carry.
Distortion on the edge of the ball.
It’s difficult to get a sharp image inside the ball.
The image in the ball is upside down.

This is a wide angle photo of a famous road junction in Shanghai.

The choice of taking a glass ball is yours to make, I highly recommend experimenting with it, though. The pros really outweigh the cons, and following the tips in this article will help. You may also find weight an issue, so I recommend scouting a location before shooting with the ball. Then return for a second visit with just the equipment you need to take the photo, this will reduce the weight somewhat.

Experiment with the ball

The first thing you’ll need of course is a crystal ball, you can buy them easily through amazon for 27$ . While you wait you can try filling a wine glass with water, you’ll get the refraction effect this way too.

Now you’re ready to get started, so head to a local landmark and start experimenting. The list of subjects is really endless; you can start with a lone tree, a church, or a cityscape scene. If you have any photos that show refraction please add them to the comments below, it would be great to see them.

Natural landscape look great inside the ball. This is a volcanic lake found in Indonesia.

Natural landscapes look great inside the ball. This is a volcanic lake found in Indonesia.

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10 Tips for Doing Your First Family Portrait Session

15 Nov

Photographs from a good family portrait session will be treasured for many years to come. It’s an incredibly rewarding area of photography, but it can also be a little daunting for new photographers. You need to build a rapport with the family fast, keep the children on board, and meet the parents’ expectations with gorgeous photographs.

Family portrait FAMILY GROUP

So where do you start? Which camera settings should you choose?

Here are some important pointers to make your first session go smoothly, and to help you take great family portraits.

1. Get down to their level

Get down to a child’s eye level. This will lead to far more engaging photographs, as well as helping you to interact better with the child.

Family portrait INDIV GIRL flowers

2. Use Centre point focus

Different focus settings suit different photographers, but center point focusing tends to be the most useful for family portraits. As you take more and more family portraits, you’ll get a feeling for whether this suits you, But it’s a great starting point for your first session.

3. Choose an appropriate aperture

Your aperture settings will be influenced by the style you prefer. As a starting point, many lifestyle family photographers choose to shoot wide open for individual portraits (f/2.2 works really well), and around f/5.6 for group shots to ensure everyone is in focus.

This was taken at f/5.6.

This was shot at f/2.2.

4. Starting shutter speed

You will probably find yourself needing a slightly faster shutter speed for family portraits than you’d need for many other kinds of portraits. Children move fast, and sometimes unpredictably! A good setting to start with is 1/250th, which will give you flexibility for children rolling over or waving. If you have a situation where someone is moving very fast, such as a child jumping or racing off into the distance, choose a much faster shutter speed like 1/800th.

This was taken at 1/800th]

5. Use Auto ISO

While you’re familiarizing yourself with the apertures and shutter speeds that work for you on family portrait sessions, consider setting your ISO to auto. The results are usually satisfactory, and it’s one less thing to think about on the day. As you gain experience and confidence, you can start to select the ISO as you go along.

6. Metering mode

Certain metering options seem to suit some photographers better than others. As you take more family portraits, you’ll soon see which works best for you. To start with, try using spot metering for individual portraits, and evaluative metering for a group shot.

This was taken with the evaluative metering mode.

7. Shoot in RAW format

The editing options open significantly in Lightroom, and you’ll have a far greater range of colors and detail recorded if you shoot in the RAW format.

8. Auto White Balance

Set your white balance to auto if you’re doing a location shoot. You’ll be working in a variety of locations with different lighting, and you won’t have much time for setting white balance as you go. Correcting white balance is an easy edit in Lightroom, so you’d be better off spending the time engaging with the family you’re photographing.

9. Choose your lenses

Consider which lenses to take with you to the family portrait session. If your budget doesn’t stretch to having several lenses, consider renting some. It can be surprisingly economical, and it gives you the opportunity to try out different focal lengths to see which suit you best.

This was taken with an 85mm lens.

Using several lenses throughout a family portrait session will give you lots of variety in the images, as well as meaning you can cope with most locations. A zoom lens like a 24-70mm will give you lots of flexibility, or a popular prime lens for family portraits is an 85mm lens, which is very flattering for portraits. A wide lens like a 35mm will help you to set the scene.

As you gain experience photographing families, you’ll develop a sense for which lenses suit you best. That’s a good time to invest in the best quality lenses you can afford.

This was taken with a 35mm lens.

10. Set limits

Limit yourself to taking five versions of each scene. This will train your eye to look for the details and expressions you want to capture and to make sure you ultimately combine them all in one photograph.

Conclusion

So there you have it – family portraits in a nutshell. Practice makes perfect, though, so be prepared to work hard and hone your camera skills. Above all, a friendly and professional attitude combined with careful preparation for each family portrait shoot should make for happy clients and repeat business.

Please share your family portrait tips and photos in the comments section below.

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Some Tips to Help You Figure Which Camera is Best for You

07 Nov

As far as absolute requirements go, there aren’t many which are needed in order to make a photograph. There is, however, one certain necessity that cannot be dispensed with if you set yourself onto the maddening path of a photographer. You need a camera. Now, it doesn’t really matter which camera you have. A camera is after all just a box with an opening that allows light to pass onto some kind of receptor.

This simplistic technology is the facilitator of every photograph that has ever been made. A camera is indeed just a tool. That being said, there are virtually limitless cameras to choose from in this world. If there’s one question I receive more than any other it is this . . .

Which camera should I buy?

Cameras sony canon which camera is best for you

On its own that is an unanswerable question. You see, as it relates to cameras and photography, the camera you use is utterly dependent on you. This is not a guide for how to choose the right camera from a technical standpoint, nor is it a commentary on what gear is better than any other. This is an article to help you to understand yourself and to that end, the type of camera that will allow you to fulfill whatever needs you have right now, and maybe even beyond.

which camera is best for you - destination journey

There are so many cameras to choose from (remember we’ve said this) that it can quite literally become overwhelming to make a choice. There are point and shoot cameras, cropped sensor digital SLRs, mirrorless cameras, full-frame mirrorless, and so on.

Of those cameras, there are also countless models and variations which muddy the waters even more. Each one essentially performs the same function, which is to make a photograph. Still, each type of camera offers many variables that work for a wide variety of different situations and for different people. But you have to decide which camera fits YOU best.

The biggest hurdle to conquer when choosing a camera is to understand exactly what you want and need. That is not always as easy as it sounds. However, here are some tips to assist in making your decision.

Where do you shoot?

The location where you will be doing most of your shooting takes up a big chunk of the pie when it comes to deciding on a camera.

which camera is best for you - Sony a7r camera

Will you be outdoors most of the time or will you be inside in more of a studio-type setting? Do you need weather sealing? How about wireless flash capability? Having an idea of the environment in which you will most often find yourself will help you to better understand the features you may or may not need in a camera.

What will you shoot?

The “what” you will be shooting goes hand-in-hand with the “where.” While it’s not possible to completely predict every subject you will ever photograph it’s still very possible to know what kind of photography you enjoy.

which camera is best for you - Canon 7d camera

If you understand what you like to shoot, then you can move forward in a more educated and deliberate fashion when deciding what camera to buy. If you love street photography then a smaller, more compact system, may be better to carry around for hours on end. Need a lot of resolution for landscapes? Ask yourself what you will use the camera for the most and the choice will become much clearer.

Where are you now in your photographic journey?

It’s a good idea to be constantly self-aware of where you stand in your journey as a photographer. The benefits of constant self-evaluation helps you to grow your skills and refine your craft. It also allows you to know when and if you have surpassed the capabilities of your equipment and need to upgrade. When it comes to finding a camera that fits your current position within the photography world, you must look at the realities of your situation and proceed accordingly.

which camera is best for you

Are you just starting out and need a learning tool? Are you a hobbyist who only shoots occasionally, or have you pushed yourself everyday and now feel like you need a more advanced camera body to facilitate your growing ability? Take stock of yourself and be honest (even brutally) so that you can find the best camera to fit your needs.

Where do you want to take your photography?

Perhaps even more important than learning where you stand in terms of your photography is knowing where you want to take your work. It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway, that your camera is the link between you and whatever vision you want to express with your images.

which camera is best for you Canon 7d camera

This expression can be personal, commercial, or something in between. Realizing where you want to go and setting goals is paramount in your development as a photographer. Naturally, your choice of camera should reflect this.

I remember when I was starting out on my own journey making photos. I realized that this was something I wanted to pursue seriously. So I invested in a camera that not only fit my needs at the time, but would also grow with me as I moved towards making photography a career. I still have that camera (Canon 7D Mk1) and it still sees a fair amount of use today. It was quite an investment for a lowly college student at the time but it has paid for itself time and time again, not just from a monetary standpoint.

Conclusion

which camera is best for you - Journey photography

The internet is chock full of more reviews and tech write-ups than I can count. So I hope you didn’t come here looking for advice on the latest and greatest advancements in the camera industry. Instead, hopefully you got something much more meaningful from this article; the understanding of how important it is to truly know yourself and what you intend to do with your photography.

Are you a beginner? Are you a hobbyist set on taking your passion to the next level? Or are you still trying to decide if that shiny new dSLR is worth the money just to take pictures of your pet?

Whatever your current situation may be, before you buy a camera be sure you know why, how, and to what end you intend to use it. Take it from me, you can save yourself a lot of regret by simply understanding your own intentions on the front end before making the jump.

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6 Tips for How to Build a Story and Shoot a Photo Project

04 Nov

I’m a strong believer that setting yourself photo projects is the best way to improve your photography skills. Projects give you focus and help you build a cohesive body of work. A photo project can last for years, and set a theme that helps you find new people and subjects to photograph.

Of course, you may be wondering what sort of project you could set yourself that would achieve these aims. A project can be simple, like photographing flowers in your back yard, or it can be more complex, such as travelling to a foreign country and photographing the people you find there.

storytelling-projects-22

Getting ideas for a photo project

You’ll find lots of inspiration at websites like Feature Shoot that regularly publish photo projects.

I’m going to give you some advice on tackling a project by giving you some examples from a project that I undertook to photograph artists and craftspeople. I have learned a number of things from this project.

Here are some of the most important:

Meeting new people and learning about their crafts is interesting. I like meeting and talking to new people and learning about their lives. The brief window I have during the shoot is a chance to connect and talk about art and creativity, as well as the work of the artist or craftsperson. Some of those people have become friends. This project has rewarded me on a personal level as well as on a photographic one.

It helps me find something interesting to photograph. For example, 18 months ago I spent three days in Raglan, a small town on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. Before I went, I contacted two local craftspeople and asked if I could drop by and take some photos. Both said yes – and I made my most interesting photos on the trip during those two shoots.

The project grows by itself. I send photos to the people I photograph, then ask them if they know of anybody else who may be interested. These personal introductions and recommendations help me find new artists and craftspeople to photograph.

My portraiture skills have improved. Practice makes perfect, and every shoot means I get a little better at this documentary style of portraiture.

Here’s a portrait I made of artist Chris Meek, one of the artists I photographed in Raglan. We had a great conversation about art, creativity, and life. I’d never have had this experience if I hadn’t embarked on the project.

storytelling-projects-20

So, once you’ve decided on a project, how do you make it a success? These ideas will help.

1. Shoot a variety of images

This is important because it adds interest and variety to the photos you get from the shoot. But I’d like to add a proviso, because I think in general there are two ways to approach a project shoot.

Firstly, is to concentrate all your resources on getting one great photo. The second is to create a set of varied photos that collectively give a better interpretation and tell a story.

My suggestion is to combine these two approaches. Aim to create a variety of photos, but give each photo your best effort. In other words, when you see the possibility of an image, give it your full attention and make it as good as you can before you move on to the next.

storytelling-projects-17

How do you create variety? Here are two ways:

1. Vary your viewpoint. Get closer to your subject, or farther away. Take photos from below, or from above. Of course, the best viewpoint depends a lot on the subject of your project, the light, and the lenses you are using. But the key is to always be thinking about how you can add variety by moving around and taking photos from different angles.

2. Take scene setting shots and close-ups. You could start with a scene-setting photo that captures everything, then move on and create a variety of photos from closer viewpoints showing details.

This works well for projects like mine, where you can take a photo of the artist or craftsperson at work in their studio, along with a series of tighter images and close-ups that show them at work. In this example, you can also take photos of the product the craftsperson makes as well as photos of the craftsperson themselves.

These two photos show Todd, a flute maker, working in his garage. Both were taken with the same lens, but I got a lot closer to make the second image.

Story telling and doing a creative photo project

This also applies to more static subjects like landscapes. If you have a landscape related project, you can create variety with photos that show the entire scene, mixed with some that show close-ups of details that you noticed within the scene.

2. Tell a story

It’s often hard to a story with a single image, but it’s much easier with a sequence of photos because you can show different aspects of the same story in each one.

For example, with my photos of craftsmen I like to show images taken at different stages of the creation process. Put together they show how a certain item was made. That’s the story. These three photos show different stages in the creation of an artwork by Chris Meek.

storytelling-projects-6

You can also tell a story by paying attention to detail. While taking photos of Eoin, a glass blower, I noticed that his hands gave away a lot about his profession. So I made sure that I took photos like this, that shows the dirt on his hands and the tattoo on his thumb.

Story telling and doing a creative photo project

3. Find commonalities that link the photos

While photo stories need variety amongst the images to create interest, it is helpful if the photos are also linked in some way. For example, you could process all the photos from a shoot in black and white. Or they could be processed in a similar style, perhaps by using the same Lightroom Develop Preset as the basis for the processing.

Or, if you have a project that involves portraits, you could use light to link the photos. Using the same lighting setup for each portrait is one way to to do that.

These photos of Jasmin, a weaver who makes hats, are linked by the lighting and the processing. Each is lit by natural light coming through a window in her home, and given the same color treatment in Lightroom.

storytelling-projects-9

storytelling-projects-21

4. Show genuine interest in people

If your project involves people it is important to be genuinely interested in them and what they are doing. Let’s say, for example, you undertake a project taking portraits of surfers. You’ll get the best results if you are genuinely interested in surfing and enjoy talking with surfers.

It’s all about authenticity. If you’re genuinely interested in people, you will have plenty in common and find it easy to talk with them. But, if you’re not, then you won’t make the connection that is essential for good portraiture.

5. Give it time

Give your projects time to evolve and mature. For example, if you have a project photographing your local landscape, giving it time lets you create a series of photos that show the variation created by weather and seasons. Showing the changes that happen over a period of time is also another way of telling a story.

6. Compare and evolve

The reason why projects are such a good learning experience is because they give you the opportunity to compare your current work with your earlier photos. You will see how your ideas and techniques have evolved over time. You’ll also benefit by building a body of work and learning to edit a portfolio by selecting the strong images that work together.

Story telling and doing a creative photo project

Your turn

Have you undertaken any photography projects? Did they help you become a better photographer? Please share your thoughts and project in the comments below.

The Creative Image

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The post 6 Tips for How to Build a Story and Shoot a Photo Project by Andrew S. Gibson appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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