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Why These are My Favorite Free Online Photo Editing Tools

23 Oct

The post Why These are My Favorite Free Online Photo Editing Tools appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

Are you looking for a way to keep your photography workflow going without your computer? Fortunately, there are some free online photo editing tools that can help you out. Here are a few of my favorites and why.

Maybe you’re traveling light or your computer doesn’t have enough capacity? Perhaps it just crashed and you sent it to get fixed? Whatever the reason, sometimes you just can’t work with downloadable programs.

Browser Photo Editors

But there are no more excuses because here are some great browser tools to solve your needs regardless of your level of expertise.

Google Photos

With Google Photos, you can have unlimited storage in their Cloud, but your photos and videos are limited to 16 MP in their file size. If you store files that are bigger than that, it eats into your Google Drive quota. Still, you can back up or share your images from anywhere you have Internet access.

If you want to learn more about protecting your work, check the article Are Your Photo Backups Rock Solid?

Back up, storage, archiving, organizing

Archiving

In order to keep track of all these images, you can organize them by album. But in case you haven’t gotten around to doing it, you can find them by type: video, movie, animations, collages or photos. Furthermore, you can search for them by the things or places featured in them, even if you didn’t tag them.

Albums, Artificial Intelligence, Face recognizion, Format

You can use Google Photos for free; all you need is to have a Google account. In this day and age, most of us already have one anyway.

Features

You can also create photo books to print directly from Google Photos. Other features include movies, collages, and animations.

print, buy, checkout, photobook, photoalbum

It includes some photo editing tools, but it’s mostly filters and very basic adjustments. If you need to do further edits, I suggest to move on to my next favorite on the list.

Fotor

Fotor is a photo editing and graphic design platform that you can use online or download it to your desktop. There is a free version or a paid pro version. The tools available depend on which of these combinations you’re using. Here, I’ll talk, as the title says, of the free online one.

interface, user experience, home page

Photo editing

I like the Fotor editor because it offers a good balance between customizable adjustments and one-click effects. If you want to do some controlled editing, just go to the Basic tab. If you prefer presets, go to Effects and Beauty. In these last ones, you’ll find some free choices and some premium ones.

post-production, photo-retouching,photo-editing

Collage

For the collage feature, it offers many more designs than Google Photos. There are four main categories, and each one has a series of templates. What I find particularly useful is Photo Stitching. With this, you can create a panorama by ‘stitching’ many images into one.

Collage, Montage, Design tools

Graphic Design

However, my favorite part is the ability to do graphic design. From a thank you card to a brochure, you can easily customize the templates with your photos. You can then adjust colors, fonts, and stickers to your liking.

The templates also cover any social media needs as well as the more traditional formats. Some are free and some you have to get the paid subscription.

Design, marketing, templates, social media, documents

Storage

If you decide to create an account, you also have free storage in the cloud for your photos and any work you make in Fotor. And, of course, if you go for the paid version, the storage space increases.

Pixlr

Pixlr is a browser photo editor that offers different versions to fit your needs. Again, there are different versions available that offer certain levels of functionality and effects.

The free Pixlr Express is very basic – not much more than any other editor.

Still free, the Pixlr Editor allows you to do more controlled and personalized edits and is the one I prefer to use.

Pixlr X, which is a blend of the first two, is the paid version, and it comes with more professional features.

interface, homepage, photo editor

Pixlr Editor

The interface is similar to Photoshop or GIMP, to explore these more in-depth, you can check my previous articles: A Brief Introduction to GIMP and How to Set Up the Photoshop Interface.

You’ll find a tool panel on the left side, the canvas for your image in the middle, and the panels for history, layers and other options on the right.

photo retouching, adjustments, photo editing

Tools

You have all the adjustments you need to correct and fine-tune your image and filters and effects for you to choose from. It also includes two of my most important tools when doing photo retouching – layers and masks.

layers, photo editing, black and white

Conclusion

I hope you liked my list of favorite free online photo editing tools. Remember, there are many solutions out there that are free. I’ll leave you some related articles in case you want to explore some more tools and software.

Please, also share your favorite free online photo editing tools with us in the comments section.

Tools for Doing In-Person Photography Sales to Boost Your Income Stream

21 Oct

The post Tools for Doing In-Person Photography Sales to Boost Your Income Stream appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

It seems now many clients only want digital files, however, there are still photographers doing in-person photography sales and making more from their art than the shoot and burn photographer. You don’t need a lot to get started with in-person photography sales. You can add products, samples, and such as your sales increase. Learn the tips you need to get started by reading below!

Photo: John Schnobrich

What are in-person photography sales?

In-person photography sales are where you set an appointment with your clients to give them a personalized viewing of their photos and conduct a sales meeting with them at the same time.

You can set the date for the in-person photography sales appointment before the actual session or when the photos are ready to view. It all depends on how you handle and schedule your calendar.

Photo: Annie Spratt

An in-person photography sales appointment is for photographers who wish to sell products like prints, frames, and other specialty items. These have a set profit margin so you can make the most out of a portrait session or wedding.

Why have in-person photography sales to begin with?

When a photographer gives away their photos in digital format, the client is allowed to print outside of the photographer’s studio, resulting in a loss in money for the photographer. With in-person sales, you are able to offer your clients their most valuable photos of their family, or event, and get top-quality products in return.

Image: You can use a gallery mock-up like this to sell wall galleries, frames, or other products dur...

You can use a gallery mock-up like this to sell wall galleries, frames, or other products during the in-person photography sales appointment. It helps your clients visualize the final product.

In-person photography sales give your clients more personalized attention. It also allows them to get their photos off digital format and onto their walls.

Giving your clients this personalized attention will also make your clients feel taken care of in the most intimate way. This rounds out the whole portrait photography experience. You’ll have them come to you next time they need that personal experience again.

What do you need to get started with in-person photography sales?

To begin with, you need an action plan. You’ll need to determine how you’ll be conducting the sales appointment. Choose a location with minimal distraction and noise, so that you can tailor your sales appointment to have the atmosphere you want. It can be a shared space, a rented location, or even in your home or the client’s home.

Photo: Brooke Cagle

You’ll also need some sort of device to showcase the photos from the session. This can be a laptop, iPad/tablet, or even a screen projector to showcase the photos large. If you have a studio space, you can choose a room or location inside that has a TV or computer to show their images.

Sign up with a professional lab

Next, you’ll need to make a catalog of the products you’ll be offering. Make sure to use a top photographic lab and not your friendly neighborhood Costco. While there’s nothing wrong with Costco for personal printing, they are not a professional lab with professional printers and top quality control.

Image: WHCC offers a program you can use on your iPad called Studio to create mockups of products yo...

WHCC offers a program you can use on your iPad called Studio to create mockups of products your clients want to buy.

White House Custom Color, Bay Photo Lab, Black River Imaging are a few of the leading professional photography labs, among many, many more. Find one that you like best and give them a try. All of them offer a variety of products ranging from loose prints to specialty items like tree ornaments, bookmarks, and even mugs with photos on them.

After you figure out what products you want to sell to your clients, figure out the pricing. Factor in shipping and the cost of the product. Only then can you determine how much of a profit margin you want. Depending on your market, you might be at a 40% profit margin or perhaps more.

Image: A digital catalog can help you showcase your products and pricing to clients without having t...

A digital catalog can help you showcase your products and pricing to clients without having to order samples. Some labs offer free product guides without branding or prices.

If you have capital, get samples of the products that you think will be top sells, and loose prints in various sizes. If you’ll be offering to frame, get the sample corners.

Each photographer has their own set of top sellers. With time, you can accumulate samples of those products. However, if you don’t have money to invest in samples, create a sales catalog in Illustrator or Photoshop. That way, your clients can see the products.

Having sample albums in smaller sizes can help your clients visualize the final product.

WHCC has a site without any branding that you can use to get your clients excited about products. Many professional labs also offer samples at a discount so that you can afford some of the products to help you sell.

Payments

Sign up with a merchant account of some sort so that you can take credit card and debit card payments. You can get a card reader with some services like Square and PayPal to make processing credit cards and debit cards much easier. These also allow you to email receipts to your client.

Photo: Thomas Drouault

Some gallery services like Instaproofs offer merchant services and invoicing to photographers right from the gallery. They can also provide direct printing straight from the gallery.

Figure out what works for you and which service offers a better plan for you. It’s really helpful when more and more people use these types of services.

To recap, you’ll need the following:

Figure out your plan. Where will you have the in-person photography sales appointments?
Sign up with a professional photography lab.
Figure out the products and pricing you’ll be selling.
Invest in samples or create a catalog of products to show clients.
Get a merchant account, Square, or PayPal for payments with cards.
Stick to your plan!

What are the benefits of having in-person photography sales?

The benefits are many in that you are giving your clients something that they won’t get anywhere else – your personalized attention throughout the whole photographic experience.

Tools for Doing In-Person Photography Sales to Boost Your Income Stream

By having an in-person photography sales appointment with your clients, you are showing them their beautiful portraits via slideshow or even just in the gallery one by one. You are helping them choose their favorites, and setting them up with products that they’ll treasure for many years to come.

When you hand over digitals via an online gallery, you are missing out on the emotion behind the whole experience. They download, print, and buy somewhere else – leaving you with a loss.

Image: Showing your clients what their photos can look like in their home is also a good way to sell...

Showing your clients what their photos can look like in their home is also a good way to sell products.

Even if you offer digital products, having an in-person photography sales appointment with clients is the best way to show them that you not only take great photographs but care about your clients. It shows then that you are there with your knowledge and expertise to find the right product, photo, and gift to make their photos stand out.

In-person sales appointments are a great way to end the whole experience and create a deeper bond with your clients that an online gallery or digital photos never will.

What if my clients can’t meet or live out of town?

Although it’s better to be physically face-to-face with your clients, sometimes you can’t, and that’s okay. Luckily, there are other ways to hold an in-person photography sales appointment.

Image: Even digital mockups of products can help you sell more to your clients. Show them on your la...

Even digital mockups of products can help you sell more to your clients. Show them on your laptop or tablet after you show your clients their gallery.

If they can’t meet with you in person, offer a video chat style of sales appointment that best fits into their busy schedule. It’s understandable that clients can get busy with their families, life, work, and travel, however, make it a point to have some type of face-to-face appointment with them.

Use Skype so that you can share your screen with them and show them the slideshow of photos you’ve prepared. You’ll see their reactions and emotions to the beautiful photos and can then begin the process of selling your products.

Image: On the left is a catalog unbranded from a professional lab. On the right is a digital mockup...

On the left is a catalog unbranded from a professional lab. On the right is a digital mockup of various products using my own photos.

Make sure to send your product guide/catalog to them before the meeting so that they are aware of what type of products you offer and at what price points they begin.

Make the most out of in-person photography sales appointments

If you offer digitals with your packages, don’t make them readily available to your clients before your sales appointment. Chances are, they’ll walk away with the digitals and forget to make or go to the appointment since they’ve gotten their digitals.

It’s best to schedule the sales appointment before you have the actual session. That way, you can set a time and day that works best for everyone ahead of time. Families especially need careful planning so that they can attend the sales meeting.

Photo: S O C I A L . C U T

Set the tone for the in-person photography sales appointment. Even if you don’t have physical products yet, bring copies of your catalog. Perhaps offer drinks or snacks during the appointment and have the slide show and gallery ready to view. Make sure there is no need for an internet connection in all of your prep, just in case you meet at a place that doesn’t have wifi.

Give your clients an incentive for purchasing their photos. You could offer a gift print with purchases over a certain amount. Or if it’s part of your business plan, include a digital print of the photos that they get in prints or products so that they can keep that as well.

Photo: Brooke Cagle

Offer a payment plan to your clients. Put their credit card on file with a payment date so that you can automatically charge their cards when the payment is due. This allows them to have the products that they want most. Sometimes, payment plans can increase your sales because they offer more flexibility to your clients.

Set about two minutes worth of favorite images to music and create a slideshow. After, have your order form, catalog or samples, and begin showing the rest of the gallery to your clients. This creates excitement around seeing the rest of the images.

In conclusion

Having an in-person photography sales appointment doesn’t mean you have to have a studio or even samples. You can get started right away with a catalog of products and prices. You can use a rented or shared space, or even have the in-person sales appointment in your clients’ home or via video chat.

Photo: John Schnobrich

Either way, giving your clients this personal and handheld experience to get the most out of their photos will mean more income for you and wall portraits for them. This makes the whole photographic experience more meaningful!

Do you make in-person photography sales? What tips can you offer other photographers? Share in the comments!

The post Tools for Doing In-Person Photography Sales to Boost Your Income Stream appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

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Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Elements 2020 arrive with new AI-powered tools

05 Oct

A sample from Adobe showing off the new One-click subject selection tool.

Adobe has released Photoshop Elements 2020 and Premiere Elements 2020, adding a number of new features and capabilities powered by the company’s Adobe Sensei AI, including automatic selection, skin smoothing, colorization, new Auto Creations and more, as detailed in an announcment blog post.

Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements are Adobe’s entry-level versions of its products, offering general consumers access to some of the tools and capabilities found in these products, but with less complexity and lower prices at $ 99.99 each for a full software license.

A sample comparison from Adobe showing off the new Sensei-powered auto-colorization tool.

The Photoshop Elements 2020 update brings a number of new features, including new Pattern Brush, B&W Selection, Depth of Field, and Painterly effects for Auto Creations, support for automatically colorizing black-and-white images using AI, automatic skin smoothing, and one-click subject selection.

A comparison from Adobe showing off the skin-smoothing tool.

The updated software also enables users to remove unwanted objects from images, add heart and star patterns to photos, and search for content via Smart Tags. Beyond that, the software has received general performance enhancements, as well as support for HEIF images and HEVC videos. For customers located in the United States, Photoshop Elements now also supports directly ordering prints and other items through the Fujifilm Prints and Gifts service.

A comparison photo set showing the its noise reduction technology.

Joining the big Photoshop Elements 2020 update is the new Premiere Elements 2020, an update that adds simplified noise reduction, a sky replacement tool, support for turning images and videos into dynamic time-lapses, and a tool that replaces the black bars in vertical videos with a fill that matches the video, as seen below.

As with the new version of Photoshop Elements, this Premiere Elements update also adds Smart Tag search and support for HEIF/HEVC formats. The software also supports searching videos for specific people using Sensei’s face-matching capabilities. Finally, Premiere Elements now includes five guided edits that help users modify their videos.

In addition to the individual $ 99.99 license price, Adobe offers Photoshop Elements 2020 and Premiere Elements 2020 bundled for $ 149.99. Existing customers can upgrade either of the new products for $ 79.99 or both for a total of $ 119.99.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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ON1 Photo RAW 2020 public beta arrives with AI-powered tools and improved speeds

20 Sep

ON1 has taken the wraps off its upcoming ON1 Photo RAW 2020. The software arrived as a public beta today, introducing the first offering in ON1’s recently announced new line of creative products. Photo RAW 2020 is a layered editor, raw processor, and image organizer that ON1 claims offers ‘everything you need in one photography application.’

Photo RAW 2020 brings new AI-powered tools including AI Match, a feature that processes raw images to appear the way they looked ‘on the back of the camera,’ as well as AI Auto Tone, which brings a new algorithm that was trained using thousands of photos.

In addition to the new AI tools, Photo RAW 2020 brings numerous performance updates that enable the software to open raw files up to two times faster than before. The performance updates also resulted in smoother brushing, something that persists even on devices that feature integrated graphics cards.

Users can also expect improved noise reduction, new map view and timeline albums, several new filters (weather, color balance, channel mixer, and sun flare), plus a new print module, focus mask overlay, more than 100 new presets, SmugMug integration, and custom camera profiles made possible by a partnership with X-Rite.

ON1 says it will release a list of newly added camera and lens support soon. Photo RAW 2020 supports raw image files from more than 800 camera models, as well as expected formats like DNG, JPEG, TIF, PNG, PSD, and PSB.

Below is a sneak peek On1 shared earlier today:

The public beta is available to download now from ON1’s website. Photo RAW 2020 can be preordered at $ 79.99 USD for existing ON1 product owners and $ 99.99 USD for everyone else. The company is bundling a 100 pack of presets for a limited time as a preorder bonus. The product is scheduled to release for everyone by the end of October 2019.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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5 Essential Tools for Wedding Photography That Aren’t Gear-Related

06 Sep

The post 5 Essential Tools for Wedding Photography That Aren’t Gear-Related appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

Weddings are fast-paced with long hours. So to get you through the wedding day, we’re listing five essential tools for wedding photography that are going to make any wedding day go much smoother for you. These aren’t gear-related. They’re the things that you may have never thought of but will make all the difference during those long wedding days.

wedding pond garden

1. Bring comfortable, durable shoes

Bringing comfortable and durable shoes is almost as important as bringing your favorite lens. Shoes can keep you from falling or tripping, and they can stop your feet from hurting after several hours on the job.

Shoes that have thick soles are what you’re looking for; they must be able to withstand hours upon hours of wear. It’s also important that they’re comfortable on the inside.

uncomfortable shoes-essential-tools-for-wedding-photography

Unfortunately, flats and dress shoes don’t really fit into this category, since neither are very durable or can withstand long hours of use without giving you major discomfort. Shoes that aren’t made for long hours can fall apart or rip.

Most importantly, flats and dress shoes provide no actual support for you as you photograph the main events of the wedding. Durable and comfortable shoes that are high quality and can be worn for long hours will keep your feet safe, comfortable, and will give you the back support you need.

beach bride groom wedding-essential-tools-for-wedding-photography

If the wedding you’re photographing is mostly on pavement, you’ll be glad you looked for comfortable shoes, because those hot pavement and cement sidewalks are terrible on thin-soled shoes.

You can also get shoe inserts that help support and cushion the inside of the shoe to better withstand long hours. While this is a fast and convenient fix, it’s best if you find a shoe that provides this from the get-go, and then you can add the insert for extra support.

2. Hire an assistant

If you have the budget (maybe factor this into your wedding package) hire an assistant. This is not to be confused with a second shooter who helps you to photograph a wedding. No, an assistant is there to help you carry your things and be an extra pair of hands.

hands near a wedding dress

Assistants can be responsible for equipment, lens changes, battery changes, helping fluff out the bride’s dress, keeping you on track with the timeline, and lining up the family during group portraits. Assistants are great because they help you with things that don’t need your full attention.

They can also be quicker at getting a forgotten bouquet or holding your flash at a certain angle. Plus, the extra pair of hands will keep your gear close, so that you can focus on making the shots and not worrying about whether you forgot your tripod at the ceremony.

bride and groom under a tree

Have assistants be a part of your team. It’s good to highlight this before you cover the wedding. Outline the responsibilities, show them your equipment and what you’ll need, along with any details specific to the event you’re photographing.

3. Bring snacks

Snacks are crucial for long wedding days or even short ones. Weddings take a lot of energy out of you both mentally and physically with the posing, styling, photographing, directing, customer service, and being in charge of your team, so it’s really great to have easy and light snacks on hand.

wedding food-essential-tools-for-wedding-photography

Best snacks for wedding days include small packets of trail mix with nuts and chocolate to get your energy up, energy bars or protein bars, small reusable water bottles, fruits like an apple, and granola bars.

Keep snacks small. That way, they won’t add weight to your bags, are easy to carry, and won’t make a mess. You can also keep a small lunch bag with you and have your assistant carry it during, particularly long wedding days.

dessert on a wedding day

Having your own snacks will keep your energy up and keep you feeling great all throughout the event. No one likes a grumpy, hungry photographer!

4. Bring a small hand towel

Due to the fact that weddings are long, they tend to have a lot of sun. This means that, while your clients might be in the shade, you may find yourself in harsh sunlight.

kissing couple on the grass

A small hand towel can keep sweat off your face and your camera during those really hot summer days. This will keep you looking fresh and stop you from having to ask the guests or venue for something to wipe off your sweat with.

The hand towel can also be useful for other things: You can use it to shine wedding rings or to wipe a table you want to use in the background.

5. Bring command hooks and other styling items

Command hooks are super versatile, and getting a couple can really help you when it comes to styling certain wedding details. For example, because the strip can be taken off walls without doing damage, you can use a command hook to hang the wedding dress anywhere you want.

command hooks - essential-tools-for-wedding-photography

Examples of really elegant command hooks that are removable.

These hooks come in different styles and finishes, and it’s good to stock up on a few so that you won’t be without one come the wedding day. Make sure to get hooks with an adhesive that can be taken off without harming walls.

Conclusion

bride and groom with car

Not all wedding day prep is about gear. These tools will help keep you at 100 percent while photographing one-of-a-kind moments for your clients.

Do you have any essential tools for wedding photography to make the day run smoothly? Share them in the comments!

The post 5 Essential Tools for Wedding Photography That Aren’t Gear-Related appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

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3 Photo Keywording Tools for Little or No Cost

03 Jul

The post 3 Photo Keywording Tools for Little or No Cost appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.

Most dictionaries don’t recognize “keyword” as a verb, yet keywording is seen as an arduous task by many photographers. Despite the mundanity, if you want to find specific photos amid a large collection, it helps to keyword them. This article looks at three keywording tools that will hasten the work for little or no cost.

Three Keywording Tools for Little or No Cost

Manual vs automated

The main benefit of laboriously keywording every image yourself is accuracy. You know every word you enter applies to that photo. Or, you have a good-faith belief that it does. Good keywording often involves research, especially if you’re keywording with the aim of selling or licensing photos.

Semi-automated

One way to speed up keywording is with the quick keyword lists you find in all software with built-in DAM (digital asset management). Such lists normally need building first, but they cut out typing and thinking time once installed. A similar system is used in paid-for keyword tools.

ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate - keywording - quick keyword lists

An ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate quick keyword list, which you can expand if necessary to include many keywords. I also have an organized keyword list under construction.

Automated

An even faster way to keyword is by using image recognition software. This populates keyword fields quickly. The main drawback is having to remove a few words from most photos. That’s not a bad trade-off when it works well, since deleting words is less taxing than adding them. You’ll still need to add a few keywords yourself, because software like this tends to identify subjects generically.

Three keyword tools for little or no cost

Keyword software ranges from expensive to free. It can be standalone, plugin, SaaS or web-based without charge. You’re unlikely to want to pay for keywording unless there’s a chance of return on investment. Below are three keywording tools that have little or no effect on your bank balance but which might save you time.

Any Vision Lightroom Plugin

The Any Vision Lightroom Plugin uses Google Cloud Vision technology to recognize the content of photos and populate the LR keyword field accordingly. It’s clever stuff. You can try the same technology out here on image files under 4 MB in size. Google Cloud Vision is the engine behind Google image search. The plugin is available on trial for the first 50 images, after which you must buy a license for whatever price you can afford or deem suitable.

Does it work? I’ve found it to be useful for everyday photos, and it even recognizes a few iconic buildings (e.g. Flatiron building). Yes, I have to cut out a few keywords, but I keep more than I delete. It’s not so good with plant portraits, as it tends to fill the keyword field with the names of various lookalike flowers. But once you know its weak spots, it’s good to have on board.

Any Vision impressed me by identifying the location of this photo (Lyons-la-Forêt), though I’ll still need to add and subtract a few words.

To get Any Vision working after the trial, you must obtain a Google Cloud Key. That’s linked to your Google billing account, but unless you keyword over 1,000 photos a month, you won’t be charged a thing. Bear in mind you won’t need to analyze every image (i.e. you can copy and paste).

IMS Keyworder

The online IMS Keyworder tool is simple to use. Just enter one or two keywords that best sum up the content of your picture, hit enter and click on relevant photos to create more keywords. The keywords that appear are ranked for their popularity with microstock searchers – customers that look for and download photos. This gives you a clue as to how vital a keyword is to your image.

IMS Keyworder shows you how popular search terms with microstock buyers. You can also see how often each keyword appears among your selection.

Other handy IMS features include the ability to bring up a list of synonyms and create templates. You can also embed keywords, descriptions, and captions directly into JPEGs on your PC. This online software is free with the option of making a voluntary payment to the developer.

Xpiks Keyworder

Xpiks is a good open-source program that, like IMS, draws its keyword suggestions from microstock photo libraries. You still need the Internet to use it, but the software exists on your hard drive. And that makes it more versatile since you can add keywords to bigger file formats in the absence of bandwidth restrictions.

Among the useful features of Xpiks are XMP/IPTC/EXIF metadata editing, translation, autocomplete, search facility, spellcheck and, of course, keyword suggestions. If you happen to contribute to microstock libraries, you can also upload photos straight from Xpiks.

Three Keywording Tools for Little or No Cost - Xpiks keyword program

A photo of Mont Blanc in Xpiks with 30+ keywords sourced from several similar microstock photos.

Other keywording tools

Among the other third-party keywording tools I’m aware of (free or not) are the following:

Akiwi – online drag and drop image recognition, free
Excire – Lightroom plugin with AI technology that lets you search without keywords, 99€ one-time cost
fotoKeyword Harvester – by Cradoc fotosoftware, long-established company, not free
Keyword Perfect – by A2ZKeywording.com, responsive developer, not free
Keywords Ready – online image recognition technology with 50-image monthly limit, free
Microstock Keyword Tool – online tool that harvests keywords from microstock photos, free
MyKeyworder – image recognition Lightroom & WordPress plugin, small donation to remove restrictions

Three Keywording Tools for Little or No Cost

Akiwi has a cleanly designed webpage that is simple to use. Image recognition helps you find a maximum of 15 keywords per image.

Keywording tips

If you break keyword lists up into categories and sub-categories, you’ll have the basis of a methodical keywording system. The problem with adding words randomly without any system is one of consistency: you’ll rarely end up with the same set of words twice. And that may force you into trying multiple search terms later when it comes to finding pictures. Even if you use keywording tools to help you, it’s handy to have your own lists of words to add on top.

Excire recognizes content but adds keywords sparingly. It’s a paid-for Lightroom add-on that can search your library to some extent without keywords.

The number of keywords you should add is open to debate, especially if you’re licensing photos for publication. You don’t want to waste picture researchers’ time with loosely related words, but you also don’t want to make photos invisible through minimalism. The same applies for your own purposes. About 10-25 keywords often suffices. Some photos might need more. It’s wise to stick to common words where possible. Long or formal words are less likely to be used in search terms.

The 50-image limit of Keywords Ready is limiting for prolific photographers, but this is free software. It gave me a good selection of words for this photo, save for one or two exceptions (I wouldn’t add “material property”).

Final say

I hope this article has led you to some useful keywording tools. If you get to the stage where you have thousands of untagged pictures, modern AI software will help you narrow down a search. Paid-for keywording software tends to be more methodical than the free stuff. It usually includes a large lexicon of categorized words. But free or inexpensive programs will help you get the work done and make your library searchable.

Have you used any of these? What are your thoughts? Or do you use other keywording tools? Share with us in the comments below.

The post 3 Photo Keywording Tools for Little or No Cost appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.

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Apple announces new photo features and tools in iOS 13, macOS and iPadOS updates

04 Jun

Today, at its World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2019, Apple unveiled a collection of new photo-oriented features and tools inside its upcoming iOS 13 and macOS operating systems, as well as its new iPadOS, a spin-off of iOS designed specifically to utilize the larger, more powerful tablets from Apple.

Below we’ve rounded up and summarized the best photo-related features from each of the three operating systems. Additional details will be added over time as we gather more information and details.

iOS 13

The main feature changes in iOS 13 are new and improved features inside the Camera and Photos applications.

On the Camera app front, Apple has added a new Portrait Mode setting it calls High Key Mono. As its name suggests, the new AI-powered filter will create a high key black and white image when captured with Portrait Mode in the Camera app.

A collection of Portrait Mode images showing the five different lighting filters available.

Also new to Portrait Mode is the ability to adjust the intensity of the lighting. Apple says its new feature is designed to simulate the light source moving closer to or further away from the subject and even accounts for the higher intensity light being softer, as would be the case with a physical light source. And like before, each adjustment is made individually to images using AI to achieve the most accurate results.

Screenshots provided by Apple showing the ‘Years,’ ‘Months’ and ‘Days’ tabs, respectively.

Moving onto the Photos app on iOS, Apple has switched up the interface a little to add a new tab at the bottom that will automatically sort images into ‘Years,’ ‘Months,’ ‘Days’ and ‘All Photos.’ In addition to the new ‘Pinch’ gesture that can be used to zoom in and out of large numbers of photos, these tabs make it easier to chronological sort through images and the tabs are even contextual, so if, say, it’s your child’s birthday and their information is in your phone, the ‘Year’ tab will show photos of your child on the thumbnails of each year.

Another UI change in the Photos app is in the photo editing section. The interface now uses buttons, akin to what you see in Instagram and other third-party photo editing applications. Apple has also added the ability to edit video directly in the Photos app, just as you would photos. Now, videos can be rotated, adjusted and have filters added to them just as you would with a still image.

You can read more about iOS 13 on Apple’s dedicated preview page.

iPadOS

You might’ve noticed the lack of any mention of the iPad. That’s because Apple has finally given the iPad an operating system of its own, iPadOS. Unsurprisingly, the operating system is effectively a more powerful version of iOS, complete with a number of features photographers around the world have been asking for.

First up is support for external drives. Now, the Files app supports browsing, editing, sorting and transferring content from hard drives, solid state drives, USB drives, SD cards and even direct import from cameras. We haven’t found any additional details, but Apple CEO Tim Cook specifically mentioned the ability to import images directly into Lightroom CC from an SD card or connected camera, bypassing the need to first import images into your Camera Roll.

The first iteration of iPadOS also brings the aforementioned changes found in the iOS 13 version of the Camera and Photos apps.

Apple has also managed to further decrease the response time when using the Apple Pencil with an iPad. Apple already leads the industry with a 20ms response time, but in iPadOS that’s been further reduced to 9ms, thanks to improved algorithms.

You can read more about iPadOS on Apple’s dedicated preview page.

macOS Catalina

The newest version of Apple’s desktop operating system, macOS, has strayed from the desert theme and has officially been deemed macOS Catalina. Of all the changes, one change, in particular, stands out for photographers—Sidecar.

Until now, it’s required third-party hardware and software to use your iPad as a secondary display for your macOS computer. Now, the functionality is baked directly into macOS Catalina via Sidecar.

Sidecar works both wired and wirelessly, and supports the Apple Pencil, effectively turning your iPad into a dedicated drawing tablet that’s connected directly to your macOS computer. Sidecar will support gesture inputs and will display various Touch Bar functions on the bottom of the iPad display, even if you don’t have the Touch Bar MacBook Pro.

Apple has shared a list of supported apps, which include Affinity Photo, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Cinema 4D, Final Cut Pro, Maya and others. However, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Capture One and other photo-related apps are noticeably absent from the list for the time being.

A list of apps Apple has specifically mentioned as supported by Sidecar for the time being.

By adding this functionality, Apple has more or less pulled the rug out from underneath third-party software and hardware options including Astropad and Duet Display. However, until iPadOS and macOS Catalina are available for public use, third-party options are the only means of using your iPad as a secondary display.

You can read more about macOS Catalina on Apple’s dedicated preview page.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Peak Design’s Travel Tripod is a re-imagination of one of photography’s basic tools

22 May

Peak Design is back at it again. This time, however, their crowdfunding campaign doesn’t involve a clever clip system or a new camera bag—it’s a tripod.

The Peak Design Travel Tripod has been eleven years in the making, according to Peak Design CEO Peter Dering. Tired of conventional tripod designs, Dering set out to rethink the tripod from the ground up, but following through on the dream would prove far more difficult than he imagined.

The goal of the Travel Tripod, which will come in both aluminum and carbon fiber variations, was to design a tripod that removed all of the empty, negative space found in conventional tripod designs, and they managed to achieve just that. DPReview was sent a pre-production sample to take product photos of for this article and as you can see in the images, not a single bit of space was wasted throughout the tripod’s design.

The legs are contoured to the triangular center column, the cams to unlock the legs are stacked and can all be opened at once, and the cleverly thought out ballhead fits inside the contours of the legs to fold up into a unit that’s no larger in diameter than a Nalgene water bottle and shorter than two Nalgenes stacked on top of one another. The aluminum and carbon fiber versions weigh 1554g (3.43lbs) and 1210g (2.67lbs), respectively. When packed, the tripod measures just 6.35cm (2.5in) in diameter and 39.37cm (15.5in).

The Peak Design tripod folded up next to a folded up Manfrotto 190XB with a trigger-style ballhead.

The head itself, which can support up to 9.1kg (20lbs) and reach a maximum height of 152.4cm (60in) with the legs and center column completely extended, uses a rotating dial around the edge to loosen and lock the head in position. Cameras are mounted onto the head using Peak Design’s Capture Clip mount and snap into place with a quick latch that’s secure on its own, but can also be locked using a secondary rotating dial.

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In addition to the tripod, the kit includes a Capture Camera Clip and dedicated carrying case that has a little pocket with an included hex key for tightening and loosening various elements of the tripod.

For a full run-down of the tripod and its specs, head on over to out our more thorough hands-on and to crowdfund the tripod, visit the Kickstarter campaign. A pledge of $ 289 will get you the aluminum version and a pledge of $ 479 will get you the carbon fiber version. The first tripods are expected to ship December 2019.

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

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Makeup Essentials for Photographers Part I – The Tools

25 Apr

The post Makeup Essentials for Photographers Part I – The Tools appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mark C Hughes.

Makeup! Before I took photographs (and as a guy), I rarely used or had to use makeup, so I had very limited personal experience with it. That being said, I have taken portrait photographs of beautiful women that have been professionally made up, and I can honestly say it really makes a difference through the lens of a camera.

The best makeup is always barely noticeable – you only focus on the subject. It is truly a skill to do makeup well. Getting a good makeup artist to help with your portraits will always make the images better. However, in many cases, a makeup artist is not available, so the next best thing is to do it yourself to help deal with specific issues and get better results.

Made up Model

Best results

For the best portrait shooting results, you want subjects that are well rested and healthy. You also want interesting locations, great lighting, and skill behind the camera.

Although the last three are things you have control over, you generally have limited control over your subjects.

Other than suggesting your subjects be well hydrated and rested, there is little you can do to change your given subjects. Makeup can help improve the overall appearance of your subject by balancing skin tones, correcting most skin imperfections and even change the perceived shape of a subject’s face.

Well-applied makeup will also boost the effects of good lighting and minimize retouching.

Same model different makeup

Nothing new

Fashion and glamour photographers have long known the benefits of makeup and often employ a makeup artist on their sets. Most portrait photographers don’t have the budget or benefit of a makeup artist on location particularly if you are only doing one or two portraits.

Usually, the portrait photographer is working with the makeup that the subject shows up with (or lack thereof).

Any corrections are often done in post-production to deal with shine, blotchy skin, and uneven skin tones.

However, with a few makeup items supplied and a bit of practice, any photographer can develop enough skill to apply basic makeup and improve a portrait straight out of the camera (SOOC).

All subjects benefit from a little makeup (female, male and other), as long as they are human.

Even males benefit from a little makeup

Basic requirements

Let’s consider the basics of a useful makeup kit, simple application techniques, and hygiene requirements. Makeup artists will spend lots of money on equipping their kits, but you only need a few items to apply simple makeup before a portrait session.

There are, however, two important things you need to consider before putting together your own makeup kit.

Makeup will make many women feel special

First, poor quality products generate poor results. You don’t need to purchase the very best products but getting cosmetics from a reputable makeup store, a cosmetics counter at a department store or a pharmacy with a larger cosmetics section will produce better results. You can purchase online, but it is best if you know what you are getting.

As a male photographer purchasing cosmetics, be prepared for comments from some stores about getting stuff for your wife or girlfriend mostly because men buying makeup is less common.

Men will often be unaccustomed with makeup

Secondly, people are becoming more considerate of products that have fewer animal byproducts and are free of animal testing. Most people do not want weird stuff on their faces, and you will want to be respectful of people’s wishes.

Brushes and applicators

Ideally, you should have three brushes – a face brush, blush or powder brush, and a concealer brush. Brushes need to be soft durable and able to be easily cleaned. Generally, it is a good practice to purchase good quality synthetic brushes. Always ensure that the larger brushes are very soft and pliable.

Brushes and Applicators

The face brush is the largest and fluffiest of all the makeup brushes. They are often about 2 inches wide with bristles curves into a rounded shape. The blush or powder brush is a medium-sized soft brush that is about 1 inch wide with curved edges. The third brush is a concealer or lip brush which is small, about 0.25 to 0.5 inches wide with tapered ends.

In addition to brushes, wedge-shaped disposable sponges are handy for all sorts of things. Cotton swabs are indispensable but buy a brand name because inexpensive bands tend to cause more of a mess than they clean up. Disposable hand towels (thicker than paper towels) are useful for cleaning up. Finally, blotting film or facial blotting paper is the last disposable item you need for a brush/applicator.

The cosmetics

Although there is a lot of makeup out there, this kit is not intended to replace a makeup artist, it is just to help you, so you can get away with a surprisingly small collection of cosmetics to pull it together. There may be additional things but start with the basics.

Cosmetics

Translucent loose-setting powder will have a very light skin tone color in the jar but applies neutrally on almost all skin tones. These powders are often mineral based.

Concealer is an inexpensive staple for any makeup kit. You can get smaller collections, but often you can get a wheel or concealer palette that has multiple colors to adjust for skin tones.

Blush or bronzer is used to give the cheeks a little color and make you look a little suntanned as well.

Rice powder is a very fine, light, loose white or very pale powder use for absorbing excess oils and highlighting features. It should almost be invisible and is not expensive.

Lip gloss can be super simple and does not need to be a bold color. Just a simple stick of clear lip gloss or slightly tinted balms will do the job.

Great results straight out of the camera

Cleaning and sanitizing products

For non-makeup people, the importance of cleaning up hands, brushes, and cosmetics cannot be understated. You really need to keep everything clean, particularly if you intend to use the makeup for more than one person (but even then you need to clean up your brushes).

Key staples are hand sanitizer, a brush cleaner (baby shampoo will do), and a cosmetic sanitizer. Use unscented hand sanitizer to keep your hands clean before and after every makeup application.

The brush cleaner is essential to keep the brushes functional. Finally, the cosmetic sanitizer gets applied to the cosmetics after use. Isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle works but tends to discolor the makeup with repeated use. It is best to get a proper sanitizing mister made especially for cosmetic products.

Makeup as an art

Applying makeup takes skill. To become skilled, you need to practice. Before you start applying makeup to a paying subject, you need to practice on someone who doesn’t mind you practicing on them. There is a reason why makeup artists are paid well for their work. It is hard, and they make it look easy.

Couples will enjoy it too

Conclusion of Part I

With all this equipment you are ready to help your clients look better for their portraits. In part 2, we cover the techniques and basic skills to apply makeup to your clients. The intent is not to make you a makeup artist, but to help smooth features and improve the look of your portraits straight out of the camera. That way, you don’t have to spend a lot of time post-processing your images.

It doesn’t replace a true makeup artist’s work

The post Makeup Essentials for Photographers Part I – The Tools appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mark C Hughes.

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Open source image editing program digiKam now has video support, new export tools and more

22 Feb

digiKam is an open-source photo management application that runs on Linux, Windows, and MacOS platforms and comes with tools for importing, managing, editing, and sharing photos and raw files.

Now version 6.0.0 of digiKam has been released after a 2-year development phase and comes with a heap of new features and improvements.

The biggest news is that the software can now also handle video files, offering many of the importing, sharing and editing functions that are also available for still image. Videos can also be played back without the need for an external player.

In addition import/export web-service tools are now available across all modules in digiKam – LightTable, Image editor and Showfoto. The same is true for other tools, such as metadata and geolocation editors, allowing for a more seamless user experience.

There are also new tools to export your images directly to Pinterest as well as the Microsoft OneDrive and Box cloud storage services, and the Raw engine has been updated to process images from a long list of new cameras and smartphone.

In addition to the new features the digiKam team says it has been able to clean the applications code in order to simplify application compilation, packaging and maintenance for the future.

For a full list of new features and supported cameras, download links and more detail about the work that has gone into the update, head over to the digiKam website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Posts Tagged ‘tools’

Google Photos

Archiving

Features

Fotor

Photo editing

Collage

Graphic Design

Storage

Pixlr

Pixlr Editor

Tools

Conclusion

Related Topics:

What are in-person photography sales?

Why have in-person photography sales to begin with?

What do you need to get started with in-person photography sales?

Sign up with a professional lab

Payments

To recap, you’ll need the following:

What are the benefits of having in-person photography sales?

What if my clients can’t meet or live out of town?

Make the most out of in-person photography sales appointments

In conclusion

1. Bring comfortable, durable shoes

2. Hire an assistant

3. Bring snacks

4. Bring a small hand towel

5. Bring command hooks and other styling items

Conclusion

Manual vs automated

Semi-automated

Automated

Three keyword tools for little or no cost

Any Vision Lightroom Plugin

IMS Keyworder

Xpiks Keyworder

Other keywording tools

Keywording tips

Final say

iOS 13

iPadOS

macOS Catalina

Best results

Nothing new

Basic requirements

Brushes and applicators

The cosmetics

Cleaning and sanitizing products

Makeup as an art

Conclusion of Part I