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Posts Tagged ‘tool’

DxO PhotoLab 2 arrives with new haze removal tool and PhotoLibrary

26 Oct

DxO has released PhotoLab 2, an update to its PhotoLab image processing software. The updated version brings new features and improvements, including ClearView Plus, a new version of its haze removal and local contrast tool, as well as a new data and image management feature called DxO PhotoLibrary, and support for DCP color profiles.

DxO presents its new ClearView Plus as a “revolutionary tool” that can strip haze from an image while enhancing local contrast. According to the company, this improved version of the tool enables the user to create “dramatic adjustments” without producing unwanted halos.

PhotoLibrary, meanwhile, offers a variety of features, including the ability to search for, select, sort, and display images. The feature offers dynamic search, which presents the user with suggests as they type the search query. Users can search for content based on various criteria, including name, extension type, and shooting parameters.

DxO is now offering PhotoLab 2 for both Mac and PC through its online shop. The software is offered at introductory prices until November 18, after which point the regular rate is applied. PhotoLab 2 Essential is $ 99.99 USD and will be $ 129 USD after the introductory pricing ends; PhotoLab 2 Elite is $ 149.99 USD currently and will be $ 199 USD after the promotion ends.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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How to Customize and Use the Photoshop Gradient Tool

21 Oct

Despite its straightforward name, the gradient tool is incredibly flexible. You can customize practically every settings, and use it in many different ways.

In this article I’ll show you how to use it to its full potential.

The Gradient tool shares the same toolbar space as the Paint Bucket tool, so you may not see it at first glance. Click and hold the Paint Bucket tool to reveal the fly-out menu, then select the Gradient tool.

You use the Gradient tool to make a smooth transition between multiple colors. And one of the first things you can customize is the colors you want to transition between.

With the Gradient tool active, you’ll see a sample on the left-hand side of the options bar. Clicking the small arrow next to it will reveal the gradient picker that includes a number of preset gradients. And clicking the gear icon to the right of that will bring up the settings menu where you can:

  • load more presets
  • add new presets
  • customize the display window.

If none of the presets suit your needs, you can customize a new gradient by double-clicking the sample to bring up the Gradient Editor window. Here you’ll see a bar with the current gradient, along with a set of sliders you can use to create the gradient you want. The top sliders control the opacity, while the bottom sliders control the color. If you need more colors, simply click on the gradient where you’d like them to go.

As well as choosing the colors, you can also choose the start and end points of your gradient.

Next to the sample you’ll see five icons representing the five different types of gradients you can apply: Linear, Radial, Angle, Reflected and Diamond.

The Linear gradient will gradually transition your colors in a straight line from the start point to the end point.

The Radial gradient radiates out from the start point in the shape of a circle.

The Angle gradient will transition clockwise in the direction of the angle created by the line uniting the start and end points.

The Reflected gradient creates a mirror effect using the start point as the center.

Finally the Diamond gradient radiates out from the start point in the shape of a diamond.

Next to the gradient icons are two dropdown menus. The first lets you set the bending mode (how your gradient will affect whatever’s below it). The second reveals a slider that lets you control the gradient’s opacity.

Finally, you have three checkboxes:

  • Reverse, which reverses the color order of your gradient
  • Dither, which will make the transition smoother
  • Transparency, which will apply the opacity from the gradient.

In this example, the top half has the transparency option checked while the bottom half does not:

So now you know how the Gradient tool works and how to customize it. Now let me show you how you can use it to give your images a trendy look.

First, choose the photo you want to modify. While there’s no right or wrong here, some photos are a better fit for this kind of effect than others. (e.g. something that looks vintage, or an artsy portrait).

Next, make it black and white by applying the Black & White adjustment layer.

Next, add a new layer on top of this adjustment layer you just added by either selecting Layer -> New Layer from the menu or by clicking the New Layer button at the bottom of the layers panel.

Now, create your gradient in this layer, choosing whatever colors and angles you prefer.

Finally, set the Blending Mode to Screen.

The Gradient tool gives you endless possibilities for adding effects to your photos. Start experimenting, and have fun.

The post How to Customize and Use the Photoshop Gradient Tool appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Kandao Raw+ is an automated image stacking tool for Raw files

17 Jul

Kandao, a maker of professional-grade 360° cameras has launched a new software product called Kandao Raw+. The tool was designed to boost image quality of the company’s own camera models Obsidian and QooCam, but also works with most DSLRs and other Raw-capable cameras that are supported by Adobe Camera Raw.

Kandao Raw+ uses computational photography techniques, similar to what we are seeing in many high-end smartphones, to create images with increased detail and dynamic range, as well as lower noise levels. To achieve that it combines a burst of Raw images into one single DNG file that can then be further edited with a Raw converter of your choice.

The software aligns shots automatically which means there is no need for shooting on a tripod. It is also capable of minimizing blur on any moving subjects in the scene. You can import up to 16 frames images of a burst into Kandao Raw+. You then pick one image as a reference for the auto-alignment.

The rest of the process is fully automated and will get you a DNG file with a 16-bit color depth and dynamic range that (theoretically) has been increased by almost 4EV, offering much more latitude in post-processing.

Best of all, Kandao Raw+ is free to download and use. You can find more information, technical detail and download links on the Kandao website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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How to Use Low Graphic Style as a Compositional Tool

05 Jul

In the never-ending search to improve photographic skills, it’s important to push the limits and try projects that push you outside your comfort zone. That’s why a project that involves studying and creating images using low graphic style is an important undertaking that can help to stretch the imagination and push your photography skills to another level.

Low graphic style is not often discussed, but it is worth exploring. The elements of low graphic style often contradict the formal rules of photography. The big question, however, begins with a definition for low graphic style or rather a discussion of the psyche behind creating this style of image.

Low graphic style evolved as a reaction to traditional composition rules and ideas found in photography.

How to Use Low Graphic Style as a Compositional Tool - b/w street scene

This image presents a typical eye level view of a city street in Montreal.

How to Use Low Graphic Style as a Compositional Tool - silhouette at dusk

Compare this image to the one above. Here the horizon is centered but the bold colors and the deep shadows of the silhouettes definitely add some bold graphic elements to the picture.

Low graphic style attempts to create an image that is free of manipulation. The goal is to create an image that shows the plain truth which could have been altered by the use of traditional compositional rules. Whether low graphic style achieves this goal is a philosophical discussion is not suited to this article, but the basic elements of low graphic style should be studied like any other style of photography and understood to push your photography skills to a higher level.

It’s impossible to attempt to photograph in a certain style without completely understanding the elements that make a photograph fall into the realm of low graphic style. So without wasting any more time let’s compare low graphic to the more common high graphic style.

1) Static Balance

Static balance is in contrast to the Rule of Thirds. The idea is that the photographer focuses on creating compositions that utilize symmetrical compositions. The photographer also avoids including dynamic elements like diagonals which might add energy to the image.

2) Square frames and centered horizon lines

The use of a square frame or placing the horizon on the midline instead of alone one of the 3rd lines also helps to create an image that is far more in line with low graphic style.

3) A feeling of passivity

Images which fall into the realm of low graphic style often feel very soft or passive. You won’t find an image in this realm which depicts intense emotions. An image of a group of people running aggressively through the street will not fit into low graphic style.

How to Use Low Graphic Style as a Compositional Tool - b/w of a boy in the road

With the exception of the diagonal shadow, the image fits well into low graphic style. The boy is centered in the frame and the focal length is 50mm. There’s no feeling of movement so a sense of passivity is present within the photo.

How to Use Low Graphic Style as a Compositional Tool - b/w portrait of a woman with sunglasses

Consider the look and feel of this portrait in comparison to the one above. There are many differences and a huge contrast in the effect each image has on the viewer.

4) Normal focal lengths

Typically images that utilize low graphic style use normal focal lengths that mimic the normal range of the eye. Focal lengths like 15mm won’t be used when creating low graphic style photos.

5) Bland colors

Bold bright colors and high contrast are out when trying to achieve a low graphic look. Keep the colors bland and the contrast minimal. The goal is subtlety, not boldness.

How to Use Low Graphic Style as a Compositional Tool - low contrast image

In this image, there’s very little contrast. Also, the colors and lighting are flat. The idea is to plainly portray this hillside without attempting to add emotion or drama.

6) Monochrome

Focusing on black and white conversions will remove any of the emotional content that colour often provides to an image.

monochrome image of Montreal - How to Use Low Graphic Style as a Compositional Tool

Monochromatic images help to remove any emotions that could be evoked by colors.

7) Repetition

Using repeated patterns helps to reduce the possibility of evoking emotion with an image. Also, images that utilize one uniform texture can be considered low graphic style.

rock pattern on a roadway or path - How to Use Low Graphic Style as a Compositional Tool

In this image, we hit several elements of low graphic style. The image is monochrome, depicts a uniform pattern and texture throughout.

Conclusion

Low graphic style might not be for everyone. It suits the aesthetic taste of many, but there are those of us who love bold colors and bright emotional images. There are those of us who love constructed images that push the boundaries of reality.

Whatever style you prefer, trying something out of your comfort zone is never a bad thing. For those who love this look in their photography, by all means, share with us your tips of the trade. We want to hear all about the differences between high graphic style and low graphic style.

How to Use Low Graphic Style as a Compositional Tool - parking garage in b/w

The simple flat view of a parking garage ticks off many of the compositional elements of low graphic style.

The post How to Use Low Graphic Style as a Compositional Tool appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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NameThatLens is a cross-platform tool for adding EXIF info to vintage manual lenses

03 Jul
Erwan Hesry/Unsplash

Do you ever shoot with older lenses that aren’t capable of transmitting metadata to the camera when you shoot? If so, you might want to try out NameThatLens, a cross-platform program that simplifies the process of adding lens information to photo files.

NameThatLens was developed by Georg Fiedler, a photographer who often shoots with classic and vintage manual lenses. ‘Unlike with a modern auto-focus lens, a digital camera has no way of determining what lens was used to take a photo, or indeed what the aperture and focal length were set to,’ says Fiedler in the NameThatLens announcement post, adding ‘it is therefore not possible to record this metadata in the image RAW file or processed JPEG file.’

Fiedler says he came across the LensTagger plugin for Lightroom, but felt limited, because he often uses other post-processing programs such as Darktable. So, he set out to develop his own version—one that would work across Windows, MacOS and Linux computers. The result was NameThatLens.

In Fiedler’s own words, ‘NameThatLens, in its current form, is essentially a GUI for the wonderful ExifTool by Phil Harvey.’ But the goal is to turn it into a standalone program ‘in the near future.’

Currently, you can create author profiles, lens profiles and image parameters. The author profile tab of NameThatLens adds artist and copyright information to the images, the lens profile tab is a collection of the manual lenses you shoot with and the image parameter tab lets you set the aperture, focal length (if it’s a zoom lens) and other details.

As of writing this, the following formats are tested and proven to work with NameThatLens: JPG, ARW, ORF, and RAF, although Fiedler notes that most any image file you throw its way should ‘theoretically’ work.

Fiedler notes that the program is in Alpha phase, meaning there’s still work to be done and bugs to squash. However, if you’re fine with possibly running into a few snags, you’re free to download it and take it for a spin. Currently, the MacOS and Linux versions are available, with the Windows version set to be ‘released shortly.’

You can find out more information on NameThatLens, complete with installation instructions on Fiedler’s NameThatLens webpage.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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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.

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This is why Google’s impressive object removal tool was never released

19 May

At its 2018 I/O developer conference Google presented a number of improvements to its Photos app, but there was no talk about an exciting feature that was demoed the previous year: an object removal tool that automatically removes obstructions like fences, window panes from your photos.

The feature caused quite a buzz when it was demoed in early 2017, and people have been waiting on it ever since… so why has it disappeared? The answer is simpler than you might think. According to an interview with the Google Photos team on XDA, object removal was simply de-prioritized in the development queue, giving way to other AI-powered features in Google Lens.

In the interview, Google team members said that the technology exists and could be deployed, but that Google prioritizes products based on what is most important for people, and other machine learning applications were prioritized over object removal. This means the technology might eventually be implemented into Google Photos or another Google app if the company changes its mind (and development queue), but we probably should not hold our breath.

When it was first demoed, object removal looked impressive and exceedingly useful. As you can see in the video above, the feature was shown as 100 percent automatic, without the need for any manual editing. Sure, professional photographers might want a bit more control over their cloning, but the vast majority of Google Photos users probably don’t know what the Clone Stamp tool or Content Aware Fill even is.

If you’ve been waiting for object removal to finally make an appearance on your smartphone, knowing the source code is still stored on some hard drive at Google HQ might not be much of a consolation… but least we know the reason why it has never been released.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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New Instagram tool lets you download a copy of all your data

26 Apr

Instagram announced plans to offer a data download tool a while ago, and today the Facebook-owned image sharing network delivered.

The driving force behind the project has been the requirement to comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy law, which requires organizations to let individuals download any data that’s been gathered on them. The tool is now available on the Instagram website, ahead of the May 25th deadline.

To use the tool, simply enter your email and Instagram password, and Instagram will send you a “link to a file with your photos, comments, profile information and more.” The page says the process may take up to 48 hours, but I received the download link almost instantaneously when trying the feature.

Data is provided in a zip-file that includes all your photos and videos, neatly sorted into folders by upload month. Comments, settings, messages and other non-image information is packed in the JavaScript Object Notation (json) format, so you’ll need a suitable app for viewing.

According to the Instagram help pages, you should also be able able to download your data file through the “Account Data” option in the app settings but, at least in the case of my Android app, the required update has not made it through to my device yet at this point.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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AI-powered Google Lens visual search tool is now available on iOS devices

17 Mar

The AI-powered Google Lens feature uses visual recognition to provide information about whatever your smartphone’s camera is pointed at. For example, it can identify landmarks, a type of flower, or provide information about a restaurant or other businesses you’re photographing.

Google first showed of this feature at the I/O 2017 event, then integrated it into the company’s Pixel phones, and later made available for all Android devices. Now, the final step of the natural Google Lens evolution is complete: the company has announced that Google Lens is coming to Apple’s iOS operation system:

iOS users should see a preview of Google Lens appear in the latest version of the Google Photos app over the next week. So, look out for the update and, if you haven’t got the Google Photos app already, you can download and install it from the iOS App Store.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The right tool: why one photographer brings only an iPhone to document his trips to Nepal

04 Feb
Chitwan National Park, Nepal. iPhone 8 Plus in HDR mode.
Photograph by Robert Rose

Robert Rose has operated the Brant Photographers portrait studio in Bellevue, WA for almost 35 years. He is an active member and past president of the Bellevue Rotary Club, a service organization and part of Rotary International. In 2006, he founded The Rose International Fund for Children (TRIFC.org), a nonprofit aimed at helping children and young adults with disability in Nepal. Also, he’s my dad.

The emotional and storytelling potential of a powerful image remains as strong as ever, regardless of the tools used.

At least once a year, dinner at my parents’ is a bittersweet affair as dad prepares to embark on another six-week (or longer) trip to Nepal. During these trips, he’ll lead tour groups whose members have raised funds for TRIFC, he’ll check in on project sites and, most importantly, document the positive impact that TRIFC is having on some of Nepal’s most vulnerable youth.

His documentary camera of choice these days? An iPhone 8 Plus.

This came up as we were chatting about DPReview’s recent iPhone X review, and I couldn’t help but be a bit bemused that my dad, a man who built much of his portrait business decades ago with a Hasselblad 500C, was using a phone for all of his documentary travel work.

But the more we talked about it, the more I became interested in – and began to appreciate – how the phone is really the perfect tool for the job he’s trying to do these days.

The transition

iPhone 8 Plus in portrait mode. Photograph by Robert Rose

My dad started regularly traveling to India and Nepal in the late 1990s (I would make my first trip with him as a fourth-grader in 1999). In those early days, he was partnering with existing nonprofits and local Rotary clubs, and volunteered his time and expertise as a photographer to help them tell their stories.

Back then, he traveled with a 35mm film SLR (a Canon EOS 650, if you’re curious), a zoom lens and a lead-lined bag stuffed with film. Sure, film was a pain what with worrying about x-ray machines and incredibly hot temperatures, but the results were far better than what was possible with digital at the time. This was especially important as he started displaying and selling prints to help fund projects.

Australian Camp, Pokhara, Nepal. iPhone 8 Plus.
Photograph by Robert Rose

Print sales helped raise a good amount of money for a while, but as digital photography took off, the monetary value of individual photographs came crashing down. No longer feeling as though the print exhibitions were worth the effort, dad started leaving the film at home – but he didn’t stop taking photographs. He just started taking them for different reasons.

Today, between events, marketing, social media and other forms of outreach, TRIFC brings in the vast majority of its funding through individual donations. But to reach people, you still need to give them a reason to donate, and you need to tell them a compelling story, and the emotional and storytelling potential of a powerful image remains as strong as ever – regardless of the tools used.

The right tool for the job

Sima was born with blindness, and today, her education is sponsored through one of TRIFC’s programs. iPhone 8 Plus in portrait mode.
Photograph by Robert Rose

For my dad, the camera used is one of the least important aspects of a photograph. Whether he’s using his Nikon D610 or his iPhone, he’s looking for the right light, the right angle and the right expression. He stays in the moment, endeavoring to honor whatever his subject might be by taking the best photograph he can.

The resolution of the iPhone isn’t much of a limiting factor these days; even when he’s giving presentations, the images hold up well when blown up on a projector screen. And it goes without saying that even 12 megapixels can be overkill for social media and email marketing.

Perhaps most importantly, my dad finds photography with the iPhone to be refreshing, fun and freeing. And as he turns 60 this year, he definitely isn’t missing the bulky DSLR swinging from around his neck.

Pokhara, Nepal. iPhone 8 Plus.
Photograph by Robert Rose

Then there’s the workflow advantages; On his most recent trip, dad went with only his iPhone and a bluetooth keyboard. Backups are taken care of automatically via the cloud, image editing is intuitive and non-destructive. He can choose an assortment of images or video clips, write a short Facebook post and publish it right then and there in a matter of minutes – all without a laptop, a hard drive or a ton of easily misplaced memory cards.

Convenience can be a huge plus, especially when you’re at altitude, fighting jet lag and trying to keep up with emails at the end of a long day.

But not the tool for every job

Niraj Acharya, a student with hearing impairment, poses for a portrait. iPhone 8 Plus in portrait mode.
Photograph by Robert Rose

My dad is quick to point out that, as transformative as a good smartphone camera has been for his travel and documentary work, it hasn’t changed much at home here in the Seattle area. Sure, it’s great to have a decent camera with you all the time when you happen upon a neat opportunity, but he’s not going to be doing corporate headshots with an iPhone any time soon.

For us photographers, it really comes down to personal preferences and purpose.

And though dad’s a big fan of portrait mode, he admits he’d like it to work a bit more reliably and he sees the lighting modes as ‘gimmicky.’ Contour lighting can add interest to an image that lacks great lighting to begin with, he says, but when you’re looking for good light every time you take a photo, augmenting that light digitally can look a bit phony.

Lastly, as we reported in our review, dad found that the low-light performance of the iPhone is pretty poor – images can be blurry, noisy, or both. The Google Pixel does some clever image stacking to offer far better results (keep an eye out for our upcoming review), but since Dad’s invested in (and really enjoys) the Apple ecosystem, he’s hoping that low light quality is something that Apple’s working on for the next generation of iPhones.

What’s next?

Bhoudanath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal. iPhone 8 Plus.
Photograph by Robert Rose

I’ll admit this was an enlightening conversation for me – after all, the last time I went to Nepal with my dad, I brought a D700 and constantly swapped between two lenses the entire time. I also ended up with some images I’m really happy with, and I think I’m just too much of a gear nut to travel somewhere like Nepal without a ‘real’ camera.

That said, it’s really hard to argue with the convenience, the compactness, the ever-improving image quality and the overall capability of smartphones for the seasoned world traveler. In fact, it’s not uncommon to go along on one of these trips and encounter someone who has just bought a camera for the purpose of this new venture, only to find that they mostly use their phone because they hadn’t bothered to practice or read the manual for their new device.

Kathmandu cucumbers. iPhone 8 Plus. Photograph by Robert Rose

My dad thinks that, while we’ll still continue to see cell phone cameras improve, there will always be a market for real cameras and lenses, though it may continue to shrink for a while. But for us photographers, it really just comes down to personal preferences and purpose.

There’s no doubt that a camera with a full-frame sensor will produce technically better images than a smartphone, but the resulting photographs depend much more on the hands that camera is resting in, and the perspective of the person hitting the shutter. And in the end, it’s the photographs – not the camera – that matter most.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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