Low light photography is one of those types of photography that when done well can produce amazing photos but when not done well can leave you feeling a bit disappointed. It’s a type of photography that at first can seem quite complicated as if you need a PhD to master. Yet all you actually need is a few simple pieces Continue Reading
The post The Ultimate Guide To Low Light Photography: Tips, Settings, Cameras, Lenses appeared first on Photodoto.
Shiftcam is a maker of smartphone imaging accessories best known for its 6-in-1 lens slider cases and ‘Pro’ line of accessory lenses which were all launched via successful crowdfunding campaigns.
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Now the company has returned to Kickstarter with a new project: the ShiftCam ProGrip. The ProGrip is a smartphone grip designed to emulate the ergonomics of a larger camera, like a DSLR or mirrorless model. Shiftcam says it wanted to create a product that combines the accessibility and convenience of mobile phones with the familiarity and control of a traditional camera.
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| Landscape orientation |
In addition to a quite substantial hand grip the ProGrip features a Bluetooth shutter button and a pivot construction that allows for quick rotation of the phone from landscape to portrait orientation or vice versa. This means you can shoot photos or video in any orientation without altering your hand position on the grip.
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| Portrait orientation |
Other camera-like features include a cold shoe mount that allows you to attach lighting accessories or external microphones, and a 1/4″ tripod mount. The ProGrip also comes with a built-in battery and can charge your device wirelessly using the Qi standard. ShiftCam says the battery’s 5200 mAh capacity roughly doubles your phone’s battery life.
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| ProGrip with accessories |
Unlike previous ShiftCam cases the ProGrip is not meant to be used with a specific smartphone model but designed to work with a long list of devices including most recent Apple, Samsung, Google, LG, Huawei and Xiaomi high-end models. ShiftCam also says that ‘based on market intelligence from our case manufacturer’ the new grip will be compatible with the yet to be launched Apple iPhone 12 series.
The ProGrip doubles as a hands-free dock with charging capability when not used for image or video capture. Thanks to the pivot design it can adjusted for content consumption or video calls.
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| The ProGrip doubles as a charging stand. |
The ProGrip will be available in two colors, Charcoal and Putty, and backers can choose from a range of pledging options on the project’s Kickstarter page. $ 99 secures you a basic grip. The $ 119 version includes some basic accessories, like a strap or pouch. For those who have more money to spend there are also dedicated photo, video, macro and ultra-wide kits that come with accessory lenses, with pricing around the $ 200 mark. The $ 399 Pro kit includes pretty much all available accessories and a total of seven lenses.
Shipping expected for November 2020. More information is available on the ShiftCam website.
Press release:
ShiftCam’s latest release of an innovative ergonomic battery grip will take mobile photography to the next level. Transforming Your Mobile Device into a Professional Camera in Seconds
San Francisco, CA — (June 12, 2020) – ShiftCam, a global mobile photography gear company, has announced the launch of their latest product — ProGrip — that will be a game-changer of mobile photography for both enthusiasts and professionals. The ShiftCam ProGrip Launch will live on Kickstarter on June 16 at 1PM EDT (url: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shiftcam/progrip-areassuring-battery-grip-for-all-mobiles). This is ShiftCam’s 6th crowdfunding campaign and will be the company’s most ambitions launch yet. ProGrip will be available in two colors, Charcoal and Putty. Backers will also have the option to purchase bundle packs which includes accessories such as lenses and strap to complete the ultimate mobile photography and videography experience.
With the launch of the ProGrip, ShiftCam is on the rise to become one of the trend setters of the Mobile Photography Industry. Understanding that as the cameras on our mobile phones become more advanced and intricate with each new model, external lenses will eventually be replaced in the process. To stay ahead of the game, the designers of ShiftCam went back to their photography roots and asked themselves what is missing from the picture.
The designers recognized that one of the major differences experienced when it comes to
shooting on their phones is that it just doesn’t provide the security and balance of a traditional DSLR camera, especially while shooting for long periods of time across different locations. That is why during product development, the ShiftCam team focused on creating something that focuses on comfort and functionality to further optimize the mobile photography and videography experience. They wanted to create a product that can close the gap by combining the accessibility and convenience of mobile phones, along with the familiarity and control of a traditional camera. Thus, the creation of the ProGrip, an innovative reassuring ergonomic battery grip for your mobiles.
ProGrip is designed as a camera-like grip that allows users to securely and comfortably carry and shoot on their mobile phones. With a built in Bluetooth shutter button, you even can click and photograph like you would with a traditional camera. ProGrip also doubles as a Qi wireless battery bank which can charge your mobile phones as you shoot so you are ready to take on your next adventure. With a universal fit and a built-in pivot rotation, ProGrip can be seamlessly snapped onto most of the mobile phones and rotated to take the perfect shot. In addition, the designers also incorporated features such as cold shoe mount and 1/4″ tripod screw to the ProGrip, so you can attach your favorite accessories to complete the ultimate mobile photography and videography experience. As a bonus feature, ProGrip can also be used as a charging hands free dock for those Netflix marathons or video calls.
“We started ShiftCam with the idea to provide the tools to help safeguard the ophisticated
emotion called life and the memories that make us who we are,” said KL, founder and CEO of ShiftCam. “It is our passion for ShiftCam to be your help with the making of memories. After all, the best part of memories is making them, which is why we strive to create the best possible tool for our customers to do so, with their mobiles on the go.”
Over the last three years, the ShiftCam team has worked diligently to perfect their products. Their previous campaigns include the MultiLens cases for iPhones, as well as the ProLens Series which feature 6 distinct professional grade lenses that can be attached to mobile phones. Also, ShiftCam was notified as an honoree of the 2020 CES Innovation Awards. Prior to that, the company was honored as a recipient of the 2018 Red Dot Design Award winner and CES innovation Awards winner. ShiftCam has also been recognized by well-known media such as Mashable, CNET, Forbes, Tom’s Guide and D Preview etc. With the launch of ProGrip, ShiftCam will establish itself as one of the industry’s top players.
To learn more about ShiftCam’s ProGrip launch visit: https://progrip.shiftcam.com/
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)
What do you do if your average vehicle isn’t enough to safely transport all of your camera gear and other equipment? Well, if you’re the team behind North Dakota-based video production company Threefold.
In the two-minute video recently posted to YouTube, Caleb from Threefold walks through the team’s custom grip truck, which is actually a 1995 diesel E350 box truck that was purchased for $ 7,000 and served as an ambulance in its previous life. From custom shelving and mounting solutions to 2000W inverters and custom charging solutions, the van has nearly everything you’d need for on-location storage, charging, repairing and more.
Sure, it might be overkill for most, but when you need a purpose-built solution, DIY is the way to go. You can find more of Threefold’s work on their YouTube channel.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
How do you film a high-speed performance car capable of reaching speeds up to 300kph (186mph)? You simply take another one and modify it to be used as a high-speed camera car itself.
In a press release, Nissan has shared how it captured promotional footage for its 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO using another GT-R that had been modified to be a purpose-built camera car. To get the job done, Nissan enlisted the help of Mauro Calo, ‘a professional precision driver and automotive video expert known for his work on big-budget blockbuster movies and automotive TV shows.’
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After plenty of planning and prototyping, Nissan and Calo got to work ‘bespoke tubular structure that was welded to the chassis and able to hold the weight of the professional carbon-fiber gimbal camera mounting system.’ In addition to the camera rig, the car was covered with a matte black wrap and gained a new name of sorts—Godzilla Tracking Rig (GT-R).
‘Thanks to its low center of gravity, adjustable sports suspension and four-seater configuration, the GT-R is the perfect base car to accommodate a camera rig of this type,’ says Nissan in its press release.
Using a four-person team (with not much room to spare inside the coupe), Calo drove while a gimbal operator, focus puller and director captured the required footage for the promotional material. The above behind-the-scenes video is promotional in its own regards, but it still shows the incredible camera rig Calo and the Nissan team were able to develop.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
The post 2020! Happy New Year from the DPS Team, plus Ultimate Guides appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
Wow, 2019 is over already!
From the entire dPS family, we wish you a wonderful new year ahead! We are also very excited to continue to bring you some fabulous tutorials to help you on your photographic journey in 2020!
As a bonus, here is a summary of some amazing dPS Ultimate Guides we published in 2018 that may be helpful for you.
Each is available as a free PDF – just click on the ones you want to download below.
Enjoy, and if you feel these guides are valuable, please share this page with your friends!
The post 2020! Happy New Year from the DPS Team, plus Ultimate Guides appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
The post News: ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2020 Released appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
ACDSee has just released its latest post-processing software, Photo Studio Ultimate 2020. ACDSee’s software is meant to pose a challenge to some of the big-name programs out there, most notably Lightroom and Photoshop, though Ultimate 2020 is somewhat unique in that it aims to take on both programs at once.
While Adobe’s Lightroom plus Photoshop package has remained a favorite of photographers over the past few years, programs like ACDSee continue to give them a run for their money. Especially when you can do with a single program that Lightroom and Photoshop can only do in conjunction.
ACDSee Ultimate 2020 isn’t just a full-fledged photo editor (like Photoshop), nor does it confine itself to digital asset management with moderate processing capabilities (like Lightroom). Instead, it offers both file management and advanced, layer-based editing for those photographers who’d like to keep their workflow all in one place.
ACDSee Ultimate 2020 promises a host of new and upgraded features in order to improve both organization and editing workflows, including:
ACDSee Ultimate 2020 also offers RAW support for a slew of additional cameras, including Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Hasselblad, and Canon bodies.
The most unfortunate thing about ACDSee Ultimate 2020 is that it’s only available for Windows. But if you’re already a PC user, there’s a lot to love about this program. You can download a copy of ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2020 for $ 150 USD, or for $ 69 per year as part of a subscription program.
Now I’d like to know your thoughts:
Are you planning on purchasing ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2020? If not, what is your favorite photo editor, and why? Do you think that single programs like ACDSee will ever be able to take the reigns from Lightroom and Photoshop?
The post News: ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2020 Released appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
The post Review of PaintShop Pro 2020 Ultimate: A Photoshop Contender? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.
Not for nothing is Photoshop called the “industry standard” for graphic design and photo editing. The moment you defect to another product, you start missing stuff. Can Corel Paintshop Pro 2020 Ultimate do the job just as well? It’s a comprehensive standalone program with lots of extras thrown in for free.
This edition of Paintshop Pro (PSP) introduces several new features, including a touch-ready Photography Workspace, a SmartClone Tool, and a Refine Brush for ultra-precise selections. There are improvements to existing tools, too. We’ll cover these things during this review as well as looking at preexisting features.
The new touch-ready Photography Workspace may not suit everyone, but it’s uncluttered and armed with enough tools to rifle through many pictures.
Paintshop Pro Ultimate comes with Corel Aftershot 3 raw processing software as well as its own in-built raw conversion. Since many of our pictures start out as raw files, it seems apt to look at these facilities first.
Aftershot 3 is a pared-down version of Corel’s Aftershot Pro, which you can upgrade to for a modest sum. The latter lets you create Lightroom-style catalogs, so all changes to images are stored inside the program instead of in separate XMP sidecar files. Although not as sophisticated as the pro version, Aftershot 3 Standard offers much more than the in-program raw conversion tool of PSP 2020. A notable exception to this is DNG support, but it does have lens corrections, layers and Perfectly Clear auto image enhancement. The latter works well with layers since you can adjust the opacity to achieve optimum results.
Reducing the opacity of Perfectly Clear on an adjustment layer often gives a nice result.
An early problem I had with Aftershot and Paintshop Pro 2020 was that neither liked my custom monitor profile, so I had to switch to a generic Adobe RGB profile to make the color look acceptable. It took some head-scratching before I realized why raw previews looked so bad.
With that problem temporarily solved, I found the software eminently usable, though I think Corel should include a histogram in the standard Aftershot version. The pro version has enough to commend it without cutting essentials from its little sibling.
Adjusting perspective in Aftershot 3 using the zPerspector plugin.
Aftershot is rebranded Bibble software, which was highly rated in its time. It includes access to many plug-ins, such as the Wavelet Sharpen plug-in and the zPerspector perspective correction plugin. These are useful add-ons. I’d recommend that you trial Aftershot thoroughly before buying or upgrading. Remember, the Pro version won’t catalog your DNG files if you use them. You need proprietary raw files. As well, Paintshop Pro doesn’t like Adobe’s enhanced DNG files.
The first thing to do in Paintshop Pro 2020 Ultimate is to choose from three workspaces: Photography, Essentials and Complete. The new “touch-ready” Photography workspace is inviting since it doesn’t distract you with a bewildering set of tools. It’d be a good place to start for beginners. But if you’re coming from years in Photoshop, you’ll probably skip to the Complete workspace where all things are possible.
Just like Photoshop, Paintshop Pro 2020 gives you the choice of editing photos on adjustment layers or independently. Some of the editing choices are not available as layers, though you can always apply these to a duplicate layer. All adjustment layers have built-in layer masks for selective editing.
Paintshop Pro offers most of the features you’d expect in an advanced pixel editor when it comes to correcting color and tone. There are a few things you may not have seen before. For instance, the “Histogram” adjustment layer is a kind of advanced blend of Levels and Curves.
The “Histogram Equalize” adjustment in PSP 2020 evens up the tonal range of the image, often brightening it. You need to be careful with this if you don’t want to blow highlights. More useful, I think, is “Local Tone Mapping” at its default low settings. It seems to have a very subtle HDR effect that perks many photos up.
Smart Photo Fix lets you alter the software’s One Step Photo Fix adjustment, and as an alternative starting point, it’s pretty good. PSP did a decent job with the photo in the screenshot, though it could still do with brighter whites.
Conspicuous by its absence in Paintshop Pro is any form of clipping display or exposure warning. If it’s there, I never found it. To me, this is a must-have feature, since it shows you what you’re losing with tonal or color adjustments and whether it’s likely to matter. I don’t expect it to be missing in a wide-ranging package like Paintshop Pro.
I’ve gotten used to being able to correct perspective in architectural photos, so I was keen to see what Paintshop Pro offers in this respect. In fact, the Perspective Correction tool in PSP is very good, albeit without the full-auto option of ACR or Lightroom. It’s the work of a few seconds to correct most photos, and that’s good enough for me.
This is all you need do to correct verticals in Paintshop Pro. Not automated like Adobe’s solution, but easy.
The regular cloning tool in Paintshop Pro is fine for most cloning work, but now we also have the SmartClone tool. This is useful if you want to lay textures or patterns over another area of a photo or even a different photo. Three blend modes are available for different effects: Original, Blend, Black and White. The first gives you regular-type cloning, the second tries to blend color and texture by reducing opacity, the third clones only texture by desaturating the selected area.
I used the SmartClone tool to superimpose Proust’s face onto a separate image of the beach at Cabourg – a scene he’d have known well. By placing the clone onto a duplicate layer with a layer mask, I was able to refine the original rectangular selection using the Paint Brush with “Smart Edge” tool.
A neat feature of the SmartClone tool is the ability to save selections as presets, so you can use them with future images. This tool is not an equivalent to content-aware fill in Photoshop. It has its own uses and controls. Paintshop Pro offers Object Remover and Scratch Remover tools to intelligently fill in areas of an image, though you have to be reasonable in your expectations as to what these things can do.
I never need to make intricate selections in my day-to-day photography, but perhaps that makes me a good candidate for testing the new Selection Refine Brush in Paintshop Pro 2020. I had trouble even accessing it at first until I realized the chosen selection tool must be docked for the button to appear. Despite this shaky start, I was soon impressed.
I started with a quick freehand selection around the edge of the subject and well within the hairline so that any intricate hairs could be selected later with the refine brush. The brush does such a good job at picking out fine detail that it’s a waste of time to attempt precision yourself. You can further refine the end result with global corrections such as smooth edge or feathering.
In this photo, everything not in red is selected. You can see the Selection Refine Brush has done a very good job of selecting strands of hair. This was the work of just a few minutes, and I’m a novice at selections. (Photo: Pixabay)
Once you’re happy with the selection, you can output it in various ways. It’s easy to copy and paste the selection with transparent background onto a new image if you want, or you can edit it further on a new layer. Whatever your aim, it’s hard to imagine other software doing a much better job in getting you to that point.
Fixing chromatic aberration, even in its most common purple fringing form, is one of the great strengths of Photoshop. Other programs struggle to compete. Paintshop Pro’s “One Step Purple Fringe Fix” introduced an artifact the first time I used it and didn’t completely remove the fringing. On the other hand, “Chromatic Aberration Removal” in PSP 2020 gave a good result. Taking as small a sample as possible seemed to help. Based on this, it might be better to leave chromatic aberration in a raw image and fix it in the rendered version, unless you have advanced raw conversion software on your side.
Using the Chromatic Aberration Removal tool in Paintshop Pro to remove green fringing. Radius and color range settings help to fine-tune the correction. (You may need to view this full size to see the difference.)
Paintshop Pro offers four sharpening methods: Sharpen, Sharpen More, Unsharp Mask, and High Pass Sharpening. These are familiar choices. Unsharp Mask lets you choose radius, strength and clipping settings. It also includes a set of presets you can pick from according to your intended use for the image.
High Pass Sharpening focuses sharpening on edges. Most programs give you a grey overlay with this feature so you can clearly see the effect of your edit, but that’s not possible in Paintshop Pro. Instead, you have to eyeball the image directly.
There is another route to high-pass sharpening in PSP where you do get the grey preview: create a duplicate layer and go to Effects->Edge Effect->High Pass. Choose an Overlay, Hard Light or Soft Light blend mode.
You get this useful preview if you sharpen your photos using Edge Effects->High Pass in PSP 2020. It’d be nice to see this in the High Pass Sharpen tool, too, but you get a regular preview there. As you can see, the grey overlay makes it easy to see what your sharpening settings are doing.
The noisier your photo is to begin with, the wiser it is to avoid global sharpening. If you have a clean file to work with that you want to quickly publish online, a simple Sharpen or Sharpen More adjustment will often look fine.
A great feature of Paintshop Pro is its compatibility with Photoshop plugins (those with 8bf, 8be, 8bi, and 8ba extensions). A lot of the time they work fine, though I noticed the color goes flat in my Nik Collection Viveza 2 plugin if the preview is small. This is a known problem with other Photoshop alternatives.
Paintshop Pro’s compatibility with PS plugins is not an insignificant factor when weighing up the software. In fact, a range of downloadable plugins and scripts is available as soon as you buy the product – some of them free.
Paintshop Pro also offers the fun “Time Machine” photo effect. This teaches you something about photographic history and attempts to replicate photos from different eras, ranging from the daguerreotype in 1839 to the cross-processing look discovered in the late 1950s to early 60s. You can add appropriate borders to each effect if you want. Below is the “Early Color” preset in action with James Joyce obliging as the subject.
As well as Corel Aftershot 3 raw conversion software, Paintshop Pro 2020 Ultimate comes bundled with a host of other goodies. Here’s the full inventory:
As well as letting you create original artworks, Painter Essentials 6 can generate “paintings” from your photos.
Other new features of PSP 2020 include copy-and-paste layer styles; quicker text rendering, editing and text wrap; faster Pic-to-Painting transitions; and an improved depth-of-field effect.
Paintshop Pro lets you apply arty shallow-depth-of-field effects with the improved Depth of Field tool.
Corel Paintshop Pro 2020 Ultimate is a vast photo-editing package that doesn’t leave you wanting for much. But it’s lacking in places. The absence of a clipping display or exposure warning that I could find is almost a deal-breaker for me. I use that all the time when adjusting color and tone. Also on my wants list would be gradient maps. There are surprising omissions and inconsistencies in Paintshop Pro. That aside, it’s not unlovable.
The Classic B & W effect in GRFX Studio creates some pleasing black and white conversions and gives you plenty of control over the result.
Some of the tools in Paintshop Pro 2020 Ultimate are exceptional. My new-found ability to make complex selections with the Refine Brush was a bit of a revelation. And there are tons of special effects, so there’s no excuse not to be creative. Paintshop Pro seems to lean that way – towards the visual editor who doesn’t care so much about the math and more about how the photo just looks. And maybe that’s not a bad thing.
Have you used Paintshop Pro 2020 Ulitmate? What are your thoughts? Share with us in the comments!
The post Review of PaintShop Pro 2020 Ultimate: A Photoshop Contender? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.
The post The Ultimate Guide to Photographing People for the Shy Photographer appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
My dad had a lovely Zeiss camera. The kind with bellows that folded up into a compact unit. It took 120 roll film. I used this camera to photograph my brother’s band, playing an outdoor gig when I was 17. These 12 exposures filled my first roll of film.
Photography became my passion. Having a camera in my hand excited me and taught me to view the world around me in new ways. I would visualize and compose photos in my imagination even when I didn’t have my camera with me.
I photographed old rusty things, beaches, skies, mountains, and flowers, among other subjects – but never people.
Cira. 1983 Scanned from slide film © Kevin Landwer-Johan
People were well outside of my comfort zone – especially strangers.
“I don’t want to impose on others.”
This is the most common reason I hear from photographers about why they don’t photograph people.
Overcoming the fear of imposing, and settling the butterflies in your stomach is possible. Focused effort is required, but the results are well worth it.
The purpose of this Ultimate Guide is to teach you practical methods for photographing people, no matter how shy you are.
Photography is so much more than choosing the best lens and camera settings. Connecting with your subject is vital, particularly when you’re photographing people. If this is challenging for you, digging deep is essential – deep into your feelings of fear that invade your mind when you want to make a portrait.
Concentrate on the positive. Focus in on what’s attracted you. Why do you want to make that person’s portrait? Before you even approach someone or put your camera to your eye, clear your mind of doubt. Settle your thoughts and have a positive attitude towards what you are doing. Training your mind to think like this you will in time be able to control the feelings of self-doubt and fear of imposing.
Learn to recognize your negative thoughts that disrupt your intentions. Jump on them fast. The more consistently you can do this, the more successful you will be.
Only entertain your positive thoughts. As you do, your actions become automatic and relaxed. You will find it’s not stressful to approach people and to photograph them.
The more you do anything, the easier it becomes.
Practice training your mind to replace the fear of imposing with positive thoughts. Think about having a pleasant interaction with your subject. Reinforce your initial ideas of why you’ve chosen to photograph them. Let your mind fill with the intent to succeed.
Make yourself concentrate on the photo you are planning to make. Zone in on your composition, lighting, exposure, and timing. When you do this, the rest of the world disappears for a while. Be in your own creative space in your head and heart, and nothing else will matter.
This may sound a little abstract and not what you’re used to reading in a photography article, but I assure you, as you focus your mind and practice these techniques, you will become a better photographer.
Focus your mind. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Knowing how to use your camera with confidence is your first step. If you’re not comfortable using your camera you’re not likely to enjoy photographing people.
Use your camera every day. Make a habit of taking at least one or two photos a day. You’ll find it’s addictive in the very best ways. Having a creative release is good for your soul. Your creative imagination will develop as you use it. The more you practice, the more your artistic style will begin to emerge.
Frequent contact is key. Have your camera in your hands at least once a day. You will become intimate with it. Your fingers and thumbs will feel the shapes of the dials and buttons. You will develop your subconscious memory of where each control is. As you learned fast enough where the on/off switch is, you’ll be able to find all the essential camera controls before long.
Pick a time each day to use your camera. I am sure if you think about it you will fit in ten or twenty minutes to be creative. Perhaps when you commute to work or school, during your lunch break or before dinner. Making it the same time each day helps you to form this good habit. Routine, especially at first, is helpful. I know if you work at this, by the end of the first month you will have a good foundation to build on. You will have developed a positive new habit. Moreover, you will see the quality of your photography improve.
The subject matter is not as relevant at first. Don’t even think about photographing people. Your goal in taking photos every day is to learn to love your camera and use it with confidence.
Experiment. Imagine. Express what you see. This will become a natural time of learning and growth. Sometimes you may feel frustrated at not being able to create the image that’s in your head. This is the time to learn more about controlling your camera so you can make it do what you want it to. Use various lens focal lengths. Choose different angles and composition techniques.
Combining some photography study often will result in more rapid growth. There are so many books, magazines, websites, and courses you can learn from. Find a way of learning that you’re comfortable with and set to study a little and often.
Experiment. Imagine. Express what you see. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Building proficiency using your camera will often prepare you to photograph people. You need to be comfortable and confident you have the settings right.
Concentrating on your camera more than your subject is a common mistake. It’s easy to be distracted by your camera, especially for shy people. Not engaging with someone when you want to make their portrait leads to a disconnect. This is often noticeable in the resulting portrait.
You don’t want to leave the person looking at the top of your head as you peer down at your camera as you make adjustments.
Set your camera as much as possible before you engage with your subject. Then you will be giving them your attention without distraction. Don’t make your camera an excuse not to communicate. It’s not there to shield you from the world. Use it as a bridge to help you connect with your subjects.
Be comfortable and confident. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
“One of the easiest ways to overcome shyness is to become a photographer.” – David Hurn, photographer
Years ago, I heard an interview with a photographer saying they thought shy people make the best portrait photographers. This was because the resulting photo will be more about the subject than about the photographer. As a shy person who liked photography, this interested me. It challenged me.
British photographer, David Hurn, talks about being shy in this interview with Huck magazine.
“I’m incredibly shy. Photography is the best thing for shy people because you have something to hide behind. The problem with shy people is that you don’t want to be rejected. So your safeguard is that you go into yourself. But with a camera, you have an excuse to be somewhere. So when you’re walking down the street and looking in a doorway at a whole load of people, being tattooed or something, with a camera, you can walk in and suddenly say, ‘Do you mind if I shoot some pictures?’ And if you show a genuine interest in what people are doing, I have never known anyone to say no. People love you being interested in them. The camera gives you that excuse to be there. It breaks through that barrier.”
https://www.huckmag.com/art-and-culture/photography-2/david-hurn-magnum-advice/
Why do you think David Hurn never had anyone say no to him? I believe it’s because of his approach. He has determination and a gentle manner.
He knows what he wants to achieve and the photos he wants to capture. Concentrating on his goal, he uses the camera as his reason to step into people’s situations, and into their lives. He is sure about what he wants, and he works with focused confidence to do it.
Having purpose will push you further, faster, in anything you want to achieve in life. It is no different for photography. If you have a well-defined purpose for what you want to accomplish, it can become a reality. If you drift about without direction, it takes a long time to achieve anything.
Photography is the best thing for shy people. © Pansa Landwer-Johan
Taking your time is not a bad thing. If you’re worried you will miss the photo, it means you haven’t started your preparation soon enough. Every genre of photography requires patience and anticipation. The better you know your camera, the faster you’ll have it set and ready in any circumstance. Take time to learn manual mode. This will not only give you more control of your exposures, but it will also help you see life at a different pace.
It is true that automatic settings on your camera can help you take photos faster. You may be able to capture the action, but not the mood. Slow down and take notice of more than your camera settings. This is how you will learn to capture atmosphere.
Don’t think you always have to be fast with your camera. Doing so can be a distraction from truly experiencing photography.
Some of the best street photography appears to have happened in a snap, but this is rarely so. Planning and preparation. Choice of light and location. Waiting. These qualities factor into more great street photos than sheer speed. Those fleeting moments when all the elements align in the viewfinder are anticipated.
Take your time. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Your camera is your bridge to the other side of shyness. It allows you to traverse the distance between your intention to photograph someone and the actual portrait. It not only makes the picture, but it connects you with your subject.
Speaking to a stranger for no particular reason is very difficult for many people. Having a camera in your hands is a wonderful reason to speak with someone. Your camera is the solution to your problem of not wanting to approach people. When you come to realize this and learn to use your camera as a bridge, you will cross over into a whole new world of wonderful, creative experience.
Photographing people when your mind is focused on them, and not on your camera, transforms the experience.
My camera gets me to the other side, away from my insecure thoughts and into a conversation with the person. It is a reason for me to be where I am and to start conversations.
Use your camera as a means to introduce yourself and begin an interesting discussion. Don’t hide behind your camera fiddling with its controls. Be prepared and bold with it. Your camera will fulfill your purpose.
Express your intention to take a photograph with an appropriate amount of confidence. Doing this will open the way for you. Focus on your subject and their response to you.
When you approach someone in a self-assured way, it will be evident. If you appear to be unsure of yourself, your subject will often reflect this behavior back to you.
Self-assured communication with your subjects is important. It is as necessary as being confident with the technical aspects of photography.
Your camera is your bridge to the other side of shyness. © Pansa Landwer-Johan
Stepping into the street to photograph strangers for the first time is a daunting prospect. It is not something many people find particularly easy. Don’t start there. Begin photographing someone you know and who appreciates what you are doing.
Friends or family members can be your best option. Someone you know and who enjoys having their photograph taken. People who like seeing their image are always the easiest to make portraits of. They are relaxed in front of the camera and are more likely to give you expressive feedback on your photos.
Finding someone you can photograph on a number of different occasions will help you learn. You will connect with them more each time you meet for a photo session. As you grow in confidence using your camera, you will find it becomes more natural to connect with people.
Take your camera to social gatherings – birthdays and other celebrations. Weddings, graduations, parties, church barbecues or the pub. Whatever social activities you engage in. Over time, you will begin to get more of a feel for the people who are easy to photograph.
Take your time. Make a start. Remain determined and practice as often as you can. Repetition will build your camera and your communication skills.
As you practice, be aware of how you are connecting, and the types of response people give you. Learn to read and understand the social dynamic having your camera in hand creates. Naturally, people will respond to you differently than if you are only having a conversation. Developing your perception of people’s reactions to your camera will help you when you come to photograph strangers.
Repetition will build your camera and your communication skills. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Communicating your desire to photograph someone in an apt manner is imperative. This is a point of failure for many people. I cringe when I hear photographers speak inappropriately to the people they are photographing. Your portrait depends so much on the relationship you have with your subject. Even if that relationship only lasts a minute or two.
Being pleasant is vital to becoming a good people photographer – particularly if you want to become a wedding and portrait photographer. The way you communicate, your manner, and even your body language are important. Your clients notice these things. If they are comfortable with you, they respond well. Their body language and facial expressions will reflect this back to you.
Your manner of communication depends on your state of mind. When you are worried about camera settings and the lighting, you are not so likely to communicate best. Put the technical thoughts aside before you start to engage with the people you want to photograph.
People love it when you show an interest in who they are and what they love to do. Genuine curiosity is natural in photographers, and you are best to develop this as much as you can. Make this aspect of your shyness work for you. Being keen, but yet a little reserved will endear you to people much more than being too bold will.
Show an interest in who people are. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Once you commit to a photography project, you have a theme or concept to work on. Sticking to your chosen topic and building a body of photographs allows you to track your development. Choosing to photograph a people project helps you build your confidence too.
Working on a long term project, you will experiment more with your camera and photography techniques. Push the boundaries and explore camera settings you don’t often use. This will allow you to produce a more diverse and interesting series of photographs.
As you build up a collection of images, you’ll be able to review and compare them. This will identify the skills you need to work on. It will also encourage you to see the areas where you are improving.
Over time, you will build up a significant collection of photos, both good and bad. Mostly bad. Don’t beat yourself up about this. It happens to every photographer. The more bad photos you take, the more good ones you will also create. Scrutinizing your photos over an extended period allows you to chart your progress.
Keep everything. Do not delete images in camera. The key is being organized. If you dump them all in a folder on your computer, this will not help. You’ll not be able to discern the nature of your progress.
Each time you work on your project, load the photos onto your computer and separate the top 10%-20% of the photos – the ones you are most happy with. Then separate into another folder, the ones you recognize as having potential and that you’d like to work on. Making notes for yourself during this process will help keep you on track and make it more beneficial.
Reviewing and comparing your photos like this can be challenging. You need to acknowledge the areas of weakness. Your photos will show you this. Having a more experienced photographer, someone who can mentor you through this process will be a huge advantage. They will be able to point out to you aspects of your work you may not be able to see so clearly.
Develop Your Camera Skills with a Project. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
As you spend time with the same people, the relationship develops. Committing to a photography project involving the same people, you will build a closer relationship. This is true if you are photographing a family member or people at your local market.
Building relationships takes time. With a photography project, you will have to make time for it to be effective. Returning to photograph the same people and/or the same location a familiarity will develop.
Stand on the same busy street corner and photograph people enough, and you will begin to build some form of relationship. You’ll become familiar with the feel of the place.
Learn to anticipate what’s happening and see the rhythm. Picking the same time of day when the light is right, you will start to see the same people passing by during their daily routines. They may start to notice you. If they see you often enough, they will not likely pay you any attention, unless you want it.
All it takes, when you catch someone’s eye who has become a little familiar to you, is to smile. They will probably return one to you. Next time they see you, they may show interest and inquire what you are doing.
Connecting with people on the streets becomes more natural when they see you with your camera often. Some won’t show interest, but many will. The locals, the regulars, people who frequent the same location, are the most obvious ones to connect with.
These are the ones you can begin building a relationship with. Tell them you’re working on a photography project documenting your local neighborhood (or whatever your theme is). This will endear them because people like to feel included. We are designed to communicate with one another.
Even if you are a shy person, you can learn to use your camera as a bridge to achieve your purpose.
Connect with people. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Photographing a friend or family member as a project, you will also develop your relationship with them. However they respond to you first, and how you relate to each other will change subtly each time you get together.
Show them some of your photos on your phone. They will be more confident when they can see the photos you’ve already taken. Don’t talk too long about what you’re doing; you want the attention to be on them.
You are best to have set your camera as much as possible before you meet with the person. If that’s not possible, ask them to give you a few minutes to set up. Doing this gives you space to scope out good light and background and to make the necessary camera tweaks.
Once you are happy with the light, background and your camera settings, it’s time to give most of your attention to your subject. Straighten their clothes a little, or get them to fix their hair, (unless it’s already perfect). Giving them this attention will help them feel better about themselves and build their confidence in you.
If it’s someone you don’t know well, ask them open-ended questions about themselves. Get to know them a little more. Make sure you start them talking.
If they are extroverts, they will love talking about themselves.
If they are introverts, you can help them get started, and they will feel more comfortable.
Get to know the people you are photographing a little more. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Focus on asking questions that a simple yes or no won’t answer. Pay attention to what they are telling you. Do not be looking down at your camera. Focus on their story. Show them you’re interested.
Compliment what they are wearing or something else about the way they look. Aim to build up a positive atmosphere, especially if you sense they are feeling uneasy. Many people do not feel self-assured when being photographed. It’s an important part of your job to help them relax. The better they feel the more attractive they will look in the photos you take.
Initially, they may be shy also and feel awkward in front of your camera. Don’t worry about this. Make a bunch of photos and concentrate on relating to them. If you screw up and don’t get any decent images, use this as a lesson. Show them. Let them see what you are doing right and wrong.
Include them in your project, make it a team effort. The more they feel part of what you are doing the better photos you’ll end up taking. If you’ve messed up your settings, show them the photos and explain a little about what happened. Then make the same series of photos again.
Learning to communicate in such a manner that you help people enjoy the process of being photographed will benefit you and your subjects. Everybody enjoys seeing themselves looking good. Their feeling must precede their looks in your photos. If they don’t feel good about themselves, it’s likely they will not appreciate the photos you make of them.
At times your subject will be too uncomfortable. You won’t manage to make a flattering photo of them because of their tension. Show them the photos. Explain that the tension shows on their face and if they relax, they will like the photos you make of them.
People don’t usually look nervous when they view themselves in the bathroom mirror each morning. So when they see photos of themselves looking tense, it’s very unnatural to them. They do not perceive the image as a good likeness of who they are.
Working like this and showing off less than your best photos may be challenging, but it will help you grow.
Everybody enjoys seeing themselves looking good. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Take your camera along to birthday parties, drinks after work, your kid’s sports events, or any place where people socialize. Doing so provides wonderful opportunities for people photography. When you can mix with the same people regularly, they will become accustomed to you being there with your camera.
For many people, this may seem a huge challenge. Think positively about it. Approach the situation and the people with a constructive attitude and with reasonable expectations. You will most likely find people will enjoy what you are doing, particularly when you start sharing your photos with them.
Be determined to work through your feelings of discomfort. Your first experience taking photos at a social gathering might be very difficult. Most of your uneasiness will be in your mind. If you give up after your first attempt, you will not know success. The more often you are present with your camera, the more confident you will become and the better photographs you will make.
Be determined to work through your feelings of discomfort. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Do you go to church, a temple or a mosque? Are you or your kids a member of a sports club? Do you help out at a local animal shelter or participate in community events? All of these provide a fabulous opportunity to offer your services as a photographer.
Every group or organization loves to have good photographs. Putting yourself forward as a volunteer photographer can be a great experience. Here your camera really is your bridge.
Providing photos for a group or organization can be one of the best ways to build your confidence. Your commitment is greater because other people are relying on you.
Making it clear you are still learning is important. So long as they know this then you have the opportunity to improve over time. In the future, you will be producing wonderful photographs for the community you are volunteering for.
Offer your services as a photographer. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
I teach many people who mainly take photographs when they travel. They join our workshops, and many are too timid to photograph people. Or they prefer to stand well back and take candid pictures with a long lens.
Don’t be concerned if you can’t speak the language. Often this can be to your advantage. Use your camera as a bridge. When people see the smile on your face and even a slight gesture with your camera, they will know your intention. Hopefully, they will return your smile. This is permission to photograph them.
Non-verbal communication like this requires that you watch facial expression and body language. Some cultures may smile and mean ‘no.’ So long as you are observant and polite, you will be okay.
Use your camera as a bridge. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Certain situations are best photographed without communicating with a person. Candid photography definitely has its place.
Choosing to stand back with a long lens attached to your camera and making candid images is okay when the circumstances are right. The photos you create using this technique will usually be void of subject/photographer connection.
Disturbing people who are engrossed in a conversation or their work breaks the natural flow of life. A candid photo will be more suitable than interrupting.
Artists and craftspeople at work are subjects best left to their creative endeavors. They are focused and passionate about what they are doing. A quick recognition and acknowledgment from them that they are comfortable with you photographing are best. A nod and a smile from you and their smile in return will not break their workflow or concentration. So long as you are not disrupting them, you will be able to capture intriguing portraits of them.
Choosing to work candidly should be a conscious decision because it’s going to produce the best photographs. Opting to capture images of people stealthily because you are too shy to communicate is never the best option.
Candid photography definitely has its place. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
At times you’ll find yourself in situations where you want candid photographs, but it’s just not possible. When people know you are there with your camera, truly-candid cannot happen. Capturing natural-looking photos of people in these circumstances is challenging, but not impossible.
Weddings, portrait sessions, and similar situations do not allow for real candid photos. You have to be able to communicate well and arrange candid-looking images.
Most people like natural-looking photos. The skill is in controlling the circumstances so you get the results you want. This means you must know what you want and be able to relate your ideas clearly to the people you are photographing.
With couples, it’s easy. Just get them talking to each other. Encourage them to forget you’re there and then offer them a conversation starter. Ask them to recall the first time they met, or when they proposed to each other. If you want to lighten the mood and capture some laughter and smiles, ask them something fun.
Once you have them talking, don’t hold back on the photos. You are going to need to take a lot of pictures. What’s happening is more unpredictable, so you need the quantity to get enough quality photos.
Aim to capture natural expression. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
You will throw most of them out, but the ones you keep will be relaxed, natural, and vibrant. I used this technique whenever I photographed weddings. It helped produce the most interesting, un-posed photos.
I would use a longer lens, often my 180mm, so I could stay at a bit of a distance, but not too far away. That way, I could still talk with the couple but be far enough back so as not to be in their personal space.
Another wedding technique I used for semi-candid portraits was to get the groom to stand behind me and off to one side. While photographing the bride, I would get them to look at each other and have a conversation. If the groom was somehow stuck for things to say I would make suggestions, often a little rude. This worked well for getting fun, relaxed facial expressions. Then I would swap the bride and groom, and photograph him while they continued their conversation.
Photographing individual portraits is more challenging as you can’t draw attention away from yourself so easily. If you have someone else with you, an assistant or friend, you can prime them to be the distraction. Before you begin, let them know they will have a role to play when you want some more candid-looking photos. Coach them a little so that they will be prepared. When you’re ready, direct your subject’s attention and conversation to your helper.
Working alone is when your communication skills are the most important. Your ability to converse and take photos at the same time will be put to the test. You have to give full concentration to both your subject and what you are doing with your camera.
The practice is again the key in learning how to build your communication skill so you can get candid-looking portraits. It takes time and effort. As you try certain techniques and figure out what works and what doesn’t, you will develop your communication skill set. You will become more confident and effective.
Develop your communication skill set. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Semi-candid street photos can be made successfully with a short lens and the right technique. You don’t need to keep your distance and remain in the shadows. Get close, be observant, relaxed, and normal.
People at our local markets know me now. They sell me vegetables, and many of them know I will take their photo some days. They might shy away, or they might pose.
I like to create a mixture of candid and posed photos when I am doing street photography. However, being conspicuous means, I have to employ certain techniques so that I am not the center of attention. Often there are not many other foreigners at the markets, so I stand out.
Often I will engage with someone I want to photograph. Generally, they will stop what they are doing, smile, and pose. This is what they perceive I want. I will take their picture anyway. I’ll make sure it’s well exposed, sharp and flattering. Then I will show them on my camera monitor. Most often they are happy, and we’ll chat a little before I move on.
Once I have moved on, I will wait a short time and then head back near to where they are. They will think my focus is elsewhere because I already have their photo.
Hopefully, they will not pay any attention to me. This is when I get the photos I really want.
Over the years, I have listened to and read of many photojournalists who aspire to be as invisible as possible. It can be a valuable skill to develop. You can learn to do it without actually having to hide your camera or stay a long way back from the action.
Create a mixture of candid and posed photos. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Remember, your camera is the solution, not the problem. With your camera in hand, you have a purpose for being where you are and a reason to communicate with people.
You are not only taking a photograph but giving an interesting experience. If you are able to share your photos, then you are truly giving something of value to your subject.
Presenting prints to the people you photograph helps shape the way they see you. A set of small-sized prints is inexpensive and will be appreciated by most. If you capture a photo that’s worthy of enlarging this will have even more of an impact. The cost of an enlargement is insignificant compared to the joy it will bring your subject.
Collecting someone’s email or social media connection will also allow you to give back in a meaningful way. Some people may value this even more than prints because they can share a digital file.
Your camera is the solution, not the problem. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
I often walk the same way at the markets when teaching our photography workshops. I’d been noticing this one older man. His face was interesting, but he seemed shy and would not make eye contact with me. He had a small stand selling traditional northern Thai sticky rice. I decided I would smile and say hello to him each time I passed with the hope he would become familiar with me.
I did this for a while, and one day when my wife was helping me teach a workshop, I told her what I had been doing. As we approached him, she smiled and asked if we could make his portrait. She had the charm! He placed his hands on the big bowl of sticky rice, pushed his shoulders back, and smiled warmly for us. We made some lovely portraits of him.
Not long after this, I had another lovely encounter with a woman who was selling sticky rice at the same stall. Each time we visited the markets, we’d have a lovely conversation with this woman. She was friendly and relaxed, quite happy to be photographed. Having not seen the man at the stall for a few months, one day I asked her about him.
Her face dropped, and her eyes looked so sad. I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I felt so terrible. The man was her husband. She told me that he’d passed away suddenly. Then a glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes, and she asked me if I’d made his portrait. I assured her I had and would bring her a print.
Normally when we print photos to give out, we get regular size prints. For this lady, we had an enlargement made and had it framed. She was very grateful. The next time I passed by she told me she had hung the portrait of her husband above her bed.
The moral of the story is, you never know how much you might bless someone by being bold enough to make their portrait. Think of what you do in a positive light. Sure, you will come across some people who do not want their photograph taken. As you practice building your confidence, your success rate will increase.
You never know how much you might bless someone. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
The post The Ultimate Guide to Photographing People for the Shy Photographer appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
The post The dPS Ultimate Guide to Food Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.
What was once a weird little niche in photography is now a worldwide phenomenon. Food photography is only growing in popularity if the 32 million posts currently on Instagram are anything to go by.
Food photography is here to stay, but it’s not an easy genre to master.
Our guide gives you some of the top tips and tricks to help you get mouth-watering results.
The first thing to think about when you’re on the hunt for a new camera body is the size of the sensor.
Whether you decide to buy a camera with a cropped sensor or invest in a full-frame, your budget will likely determine your choice.
The important thing to know is that your camera and lenses behave differently when they have a cropped sensor than a full-frame.
Every camera has a crop factor. This is a number used to describe how much the camera is cropping your image in relation to the standard 35mm.
A full-frame camera matches the 35mm cropped standard of a traditional film camera. It has a sensor size of 24mm x 36mm. A cropped sensor is smaller than this and is therefore cheaper for camera manufacturers to make. It doesn’t match a lot of lenses and the final images look different.
The Canon Rebel, for example, has a crop factor of 1.6. This means that you multiply 1.6 times the focal length of your lens to get the actual focal length that it will look like your pictures were taken at.
On a full-frame camera, a 50mm lens behaves like a 50mm. Put that same lens on a camera with a cropped sensor, it behaves more like an 80mm.
Lenses are where you should spend the most significant part of your budget. You should look at them as a long-term investment in your craft.
Here are the factors to consider:
Your biggest concern when shopping for a lens is sharpness.
Prime lenses are preferred when shooting food because they are sharper than zoom lenses.
Zoom lenses have more moving parts that enable the zoom to function. This tends to result in lower image quality and sharpness.
Prime lenses are usually ‘faster’. They have a larger maximum aperture, which enables quicker shutter speeds.
They also give you a much tighter depth of field, enabling you to isolate your subject and get that really nice blurred background we all love in food photography.
The 50mm can also be a useful lens, especially if you don’t have a zoom. This lens is good for overhead shots and tablescapes. However, it can give you some distortion when taking a portrait-style shot. In food photography, the 50mm is actually considered a wide-angle lens.
The 50mm f/1.8 is often referred to as the “nifty-fifty” because it gives you decent results for a very low price. If you’re just starting out and your budget is tight, get this one.
Although primes are ideal, it’s actually very useful to have one zoom lens in your kit, such as a 24-70mm.
It’s very sharp for a zoom lens, and really versatile. Many food photographers consider this a staple in their kit.
If you’re shooting with a cropped sensor, then a 60mm macro is a great choice.
On a cropped sensor, it’s more like having a 100mm. If you upgrade to full-frame, you can use it like you would a 50mm.
This lens allows you to get 3/4-angle view shots of your subject with a nice bokeh on a cropped sensor.
You also won’t get the distortion at this angle that you would when shooting with a wider focal length, like a 50mm.
An excellent lens to have in your kit is a 100mm macro lens. This lens is not only for macro or close up shots, although it’s great at these, too.
By pulling further away from your set, you can get very nice portrait-style shots as well. The focal length will give you a great blurred background.
If you go for the 100mm/105mm macro lens on a cropped sensor you will be shooting at a focal length of 150mm.
This will be a very tight crop, which can be a problem if space is an issue.
A tripod is a must for food photography. It helps you create consistent images and frees up your hands to style according to what you see through your camera.
The biggest requirement in a tripod is stability. A tripod needs to be able to handle the weight of your camera and lens.
When shopping for a tripod, look for one with both adjustable height and orientation. This is where you have a center column that you can move.
Make sure that it has rubber feet to avoid slippage, and that it has a high payload.
Payload refers to the amount of weight the tripod is able to withstand. It needs to bear the weight of your camera, lens, and any other additions such as a bracket or extension arm.
The objective of food styling is to make food look it’s very best. Most food needs a bit of doctoring to make it look presentable for the camera.
Here are some things to consider when approaching food styling:
The food you shoot needs to be as fresh as possible so that it looks appealing in your images. When shopping for your ingredients, take care to buy the freshest and best-looking items available.
Always have your scene, lighting, and camera ready before placing your food on set.
When you’re adjusting with your lighting and camera settings, use a substitute in a similar color and shape as your food as a stand-in. Replace it with your “hero” (your main food subject) at the last moment, so that it looks as fresh and appetizing as possible.
When shopping for groceries, be sure to buy more than you think you’ll need for the shoot. Food dries out, melts, goes brown, or otherwise begins to look unappealing within a short time frame.
It needs to be replaced with fresher items.
Depending on the food, you may also need a lot of the items to fill the frame.
The most important factor when choosing the dishes on which you will present your food is the size.
Objects can look very different to the camera than to the eye and often look bigger than we expect. For this reason, it’s a good idea to choose smaller dishes than you would ordinarily use.
Present your subjects on salad plates or smaller dinner plates. Large plates can dwarf the main subject and dominate the frame.
Herbs and spices, and items such as croutons, can enhance your food shots.
Sprigs of various herbs like rosemary can be tied together with kitchen string to make little bouquets you can use to add context to your food story.
You can enhance a plain bowl of soup with a drizzle of cream and a sprinkling of chopped chives.
The key is that your garnishes should make sense within the wider context of your scene. If you’re shooting salmon with a lemon dill sauce, then don’t garnish it with basil.
When using herbs, use the freshest possible and replace them as you shoot. They wilt or oxidize quickly. Cut herbs can be kept fresh in the refrigerator much longer when wrapped in some wet paper towel.
You need to have a collection of food photography props.
A prop is any item you use on set to enhance the image. In food photography, this is typically kitchenware, like plates and flatware, serving bowls and utensils, and linens.
When selecting your props, think about your food photography style and what types of props would complement it.
If your style is really clean and elegant, or more refined, such props would not make much sense and you’d be better off with more delicate pieces.
In general, stay away from very bright colors and bold patterns, as they distract from the food. Colorful pieces can add a point of interest, but they need to work with the overall composition and feel of the photo.
Don’t use a lot of props. A couple of the right props can have a lot of impact in telling a visual story, but too many will distract the viewer and dominate the image.
When selecting your props, start with one or two pieces, perhaps a neutral salad plate and a vintage knife or spoon. If in doubt, keep it simple.
You’ll need a variety of interesting backgrounds on which to place your food.
Use a variety of items for your backgrounds, like fabric, craft paper, or large floor tiles. You can also get creative and make your own.
Buy sheets of wood and paint or stain them yourself. There are also some great online resources for buying professional food photography backgrounds and they ship worldwide.
When shooting food, neutral or cool-toned backgrounds like blue generally work best.
Whether you use natural or artificial light, you’ll need to modify your light source.
One important item in your kit is a diffuser. This is a panel of sheer white material that you place at the edge of your table to soften the light that hits your scene.
You’ll also need some simple tools to bounce and absorb the light. You can buy a professional 8-in-1 reflector kit, with foldable discs in a variety of materials to use in your shoots, as pictured below.
The silver reflector, for example, can brighten your food, while the gold reflector will add warmth. It usually comes with a diffuser as well.
For a DIY version, you can also use simple black or white cardboard purchased from a craft or dollar store. White brightens your scene, while the black absorbs the light.
You should have an idea of what you want your final image to look like before you pick up your camera. Do you want the light to look soft and dimensional, or are you looking for striking contrast?
The greater the contrast between light and dark, the more dramatic your image will be. Often, your subject will dictate the light you choose.
The next time you shoot, photograph your subject in both soft and hard light and note the difference. How does each approach affect the final result? Many photographers tend to gravitate to one or the other as part of their style.
This is when your light is coming from directly beside the food.
Side lighting is a good approach for a lot of your food photography. It works for most set-ups and is easy to use.
Place a reflector or bounce card on the opposite side to the light. Depending on how much shadow you want on the side of your food, move it closer or farther away, or use a smaller or larger reflector.
When shooting white and airy scenes, you still want some shadow to add dimension.
Backlighting is when you position your light behind your food.
If you imagine the face of a clock, it’s at 12 o’clock. This is an ideal position for beverages or soups, as it adds a sheen and highlights the liquid properties of food.
In general, backlighting is very flattering to food. It makes it gleam and brings out its texture.
However, it can be tricky to work with because it can cause your image to be too bright at the back, and too dark at the front. Too much contrast means the back of the photo will be blown out, with a loss of detail blurring into the main subject. Not enough contrast will result in a blown out photo or one that looks washed out, which is what happens when you shoot with too much light.
Side backlighting is a combination of the first two types of lighting. It’s the best of both worlds and the easiest to work with. Here, our light is placed between 10 and 11 o’clock.
With this lighting style, you get the surface shine provided by backlighting without the risk of overexposure. You also don’t have to reflect as much light onto the front of the food because the light is coming at more of an angle.
When using side backlighting, you’ll have to play around with the height of your light relative to your scene, depending on how you want the shadows to fall.
The closer your light source is to your set, the softer the fall-off will be.
Camera angle can have a powerful effect on your final image.
Before you pick up your camera, you need to think about what kind of food or dish you are shooting and which camera angle will help bring out its best features.
There are three main camera angles used when photographing food: overhead, 3/4 angle, or straight-on.
The 3/4 angle is when your camera is placed anywhere from 25 to 75 degrees in relation to your subject.
The 3/4 angle is a popular angle because it’s so versatile. You can usually show the front and surface of the dish, as well as the sides.
You see this angle a lot in commercial food photography.
The overhead angle is the 90-degree angle. This has become a very popular angle lately due to Instagram.
This angle definitely has several positives. It’s good for fitting several elements into a scene, like in a tablescape. This also makes it a great storytelling angle. You can see a variety of props, ingredients, or dishes of food in the frame when you shoot from overhead. It is also often easier to compose your shot using this angle than a 3/4 angle or straight-on.
However, the overhead angle doesn’t work for every type of food shot. It eliminates depth, which gives a more graphic pop to an image but is not suitable for every type of food.
With the overhead angle, what you most emphasize is the shape of the food and various elements of the scene.
This straight-on camera angle is most suitable for “tall” foods, like burgers or stacks of brownies or pancakes. It emphasizes the height of a dish.
When you’re shooting burgers and sandwiches, the bun or the top piece of bread hides what is inside, so taking the shot from anywhere above the food doesn’t make sense.
Remember, the objective is always to focus on the best features of the food.
Compositional tools can help us make better photographs, however, not each tool will work for each image.
Before you begin to shoot, know the goal of your image. What is the mood? What is it that you want to convey? What is the purpose of your shot and how will it be used?
Good food photography evokes the viewer’s emotions. Composition is one of the main tools that help us do this.
Line is the most basic element in visual composition. Lines lead the eye through a photograph to key focal points and elements and keep the viewer’s eye focused on the image.
There are a couple of things to be aware of when working with lines. When using lines to direct the viewer’s eye, they should point to the main subject, or into the frame.
Lines should also never point outside of the frame, as the eyes will be forced to leave the image. This weakens the image and can cause the viewer to lose interest.
The rule-of-odds states that when photographing a group of objects, having an odd number of elements in the frame is much more visually interesting than having an even number of elements.
Odd numbers create a sense of balance and harmony and provide a resting point for our eyes, whereas even numbers of objects can divide our attention and compete with each other.
When there are more than five elements in an image, it becomes difficult for the mind to register the higher number. For this reason, it’s a good idea to compose many elements into groups of odd numbers whenever possible.
The Rule of Thirds is intended to help you place the main elements and focal point within the composition.
Think of an imaginary grid that divides the image into nine equal parts, like a tic-tac-toe grid. The ratio is 1:1 per rectangle.
Rule of Thirds is a great place to start. It helps add harmony to your images and helps you take the first steps in composition as a new photographer. In fact, it can work for many images, particularly landscapes.
When it comes to food photography, however, this rule can be limiting. You can end up making images that are unbalanced and awkward.
The Phi Grid is a similar concept that is more powerful than the Rule of Thirds. Both grids look almost the same, but the centre lines of the Phi Grid are closer together.
Phi Grid
The Phi Grid is an expression of the Golden Ratio. It helps you create a balanced and naturally pleasing image.
The Phi Grid follows the ratio of 1:1.618, a ratio that is a constant in nature and one we automatically gravitate toward.
It appears throughout the natural world, from a nautilus shell to the number of petals in a flower.
You can find the golden ratio everywhere in the world around us, though no one can explain exactly why it exists this way.
You can use this knowledge in your photography. Thinking about how the eye moves through an image and incorporating some expression of the golden ratio will help you create images that the brain will recognize as aesthetically attractive and harmonious.
Positive space is the space taken up by your main subject. Negative space is an area where your eyes can rest. It provides balance, a bit of breathing room, and emphasizes the subject.
Negative space can portray movement and give context to an image. It may also give the viewer the idea that there is a story beyond what the eye is seeing.
In food photography, there is a tendency to shoot with a lot of negative space due to text placement, particularly when it comes to magazine work, product packaging, or advertisements.
When an image doesn’t make use of negative space, it can feel a bit claustrophobic and cluttered. Also, when there is too much going on in an image, the viewer is unsure of where to look.
Repeating elements also add interest to an image. Repetition can occur spontaneously in the subject or can be created by added elements such as props and supporting ingredients.
Sometimes patterns can become monotonous, so breaking up a pattern can create a stronger photograph.
There are various ways to create a break in pattern, such as with a break in color, shape, size, or texture. Where you place this break is crucial; you want to place it in one of your focal points or along intersecting lines.
Color is an important part of a composition. It evokes emotions and creates a sense of mood within an image.
Cool and dark colors such as navy blue and black recede, while light or warm colors like yellow bring objects forward.
Backgrounds and surface colors that are too bright can detract from our subject; they should be chosen according to the mood you want to create, as well as in harmony with your chosen elements.
Color combinations can be monochromatic when they are tonal variations within a single hue. This approach has its place, but utilizing complementary colors is a great technique to apply to food photography.
Complementary colors appear directly opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red and green, or blue and orange.
The color scheme you choose to work with will, in part, be dictated by the food you are shooting.
Your colors should also be balanced in terms of not having too many colors in a frame, which will appear chaotic.
One of the best ways to add interest to your photographs is with texture. It adds contrast and detail and enhances food subjects.
Texture occurs naturally in food, but can also be used effectively in backgrounds and surfaces, and your props and linens, as long as it’s not overdone.
Lots of texture in the food, linens, and backgrounds composed together can look too busy and overwhelm the viewer.
Adobe’s Lightroom is an excellent post-processing program. It’s more intuitive and easier to learn than Photoshop.
I recommend using Lightroom to do your global adjustments and then to fine tune your image in Photoshop if need be. For example, if you need to work on specific areas of the image.
Let’s look at the most important tools:
It’s important to have a basic understanding of the histogram to make the proper adjustments to the exposure and tones in your image.
A histogram maps out the tonal range of an image. Brightness is graphed on a grayscale. Every pixel in the image is assigned to a value.
Black is on the left, while white is on the right. You can find the shades of grey in between.
The distribution of the tones in the histogram will tell you about the overall exposure of the image.
A big peak in any of these regions means that the image has a lot of pixels at that particular density. An open gap in the histogram means that there are no pixels at that density.
Check if you have a strong peak at the black or white end of the histogram. If you do, your image could be underexposed or overexposed.
Generally, most images look best if they contain both dark and light values. Otherwise, they may lack contrast and look flat.
It’s a good idea to crop and straighten your image before you start making global adjustments.
To straighten an image, start in the Transform panel and click on -> Auto.
If this doesn’t work, you can try one of the other settings, or do it manually under the Crop Tool.
To access the Crop Tool in Lightroom, click on the grid symbol under the Histogram in the top panel. Or hit R for the keyboard shortcut. This will allow you to crop your image by bringing in the corners with your cursor.
Note that when the lock is closed on the lock symbol, the tool will crop each side of the image evenly.
If you would like to freeform crop, simply click on it to unlock it.
White Balance in a very important aspect of post-processing your food pictures.
I recommend shooting with a grey card and adjusting your white balance in post-processing. This removes incorrect color casts and ensures that your whites are truly white.
A grey card is a piece of grey plastic you can buy at a camera supply store. It is exactly 18% grey, which is what your camera looks for when metering a scene.
Take a picture with your grey card in the scene. In Lightroom, take the White Balance eyedropper and click on the grey card. It will automatically read the proper white balance.
This panel is where you may end up doing a lot of tweaking before you settle on a final look.
Exposure affects the brightness of the range of tones in your image, however, playing with your shadows and highlights, and your whites and blacks will give you a more precise balancing of tones than simply relying on the Exposure slider.
Check if the bright areas look muddy, or the shadows still need more light. Move the sliders to points where the image looks good overall.
You will likely need to go back and readjust your exposure slider once you have made edits with the other sliders.
Vibrance is also an important slider in editing food photography.
It’s a better editing tool than Saturation because it’s more subtle. It adjusts the less saturated colors without intensifying the already saturated ones.
Vibrance will first boost the saturation of the muted colors and then the other colors.
Whether you actually use the saturation slider depends on the image. In general, a conservative approach is what works best when editing food photography.
If you decide to use this slider the slider, nudge it up a tad, to about +5 or +6.
New users often find the Tone Curve challenging, but it’s one of the most powerful tools found in Lightroom.
The Tone Curve is a graph that maps out where the tones in your images lie. The bottom axis of the Tone Curve starts with Shadows at the far left side. It ends with Highlights on the far right end. The mid-tones fall in the middle, in a range from darker to lighter. They get darker as you move lower, and brighter as you move up the axis.
You can control the lightness and darkness of your tones. Adjust the Point Curve itself or the Region Curve.
The Region has sliders for each part of the tonal range. As you drag each slider, the curve, and the image both change.
To make adjustments with the Point Curve, click on the area you want to affect. This will create an anchor point at which to control the tone.
Dragging the point up lightens that tone; dragging it down darkens it.
Assess the mid-tones in your image to see if they are already bright. If not, click on the middle of the tone curve and bring the point up.
If they are too bright, bring the curve down. Check the other parts of your image.
If you’re just getting started with learning the Tone Curve, play around with the Region sliders first. Take note of how the various sliders affect the curve.
Whichever approach you choose, be sure to watch the histogram as you make changes. This way you’ll make sure that you are not losing important detail.
HSL stands for Hue, Saturation, and Luminance. This is where you balance the colors in Lightroom.
Color adjustments are usually more subjective than tonal adjustments. This is because color gives a photograph a sense of mood.
There are two ways to make color adjustments in this panel. You can adjust them all at once under HSL/All. Or each color individually under the Color tab at the top of the panel.
The Hue tab or section at the top of the panel is where you choose how warm or cool you want each color in your image to be.
For example, I find that greens almost always look off. I slide the greens slightly more towards the left or right to get them looking more realistic.
To add more warmth – meaning more yellow – to your greens, slide it to the left. For a cooler hue, sliding it to the right adds more blue.
The Saturation slider in the basic panel adjusts the color of the whole image. But the saturation sliders here adjust each color individually.
If you adjust a color to be more saturated, this will affect the saturation of that particular color throughout the whole photo.
Whether you’re working in the basic panel or the HSL panel, saturation requires a light hand.
Lastly, Luminance affects the brightness of the color. These sliders are more valuable than the saturation sliders, so work with these first.
Editing in Lightroom is all about balance. The same goes when working with Hue, Saturation, and Luminance adjustments.
Sharpening should be the last editing step. It adds contrast between pixels and edges, which creates definition and a more refined look.
However, you don’t need to apply sharpening to the whole image because, in food photography, there is not much point in sharpening the props and the background.
The focus is on the food, so that is what you sharpen.
To do this in Lightroom, mask out the image to select the areas of the image you want to sharpen. Hold down the Alt/Option key while clicking on Masking in the Sharpening panel.
Lightroom will show you where the sharpening is being applied in white. Your image will look like an x-ray.
Slide it to the right. The further right you go, the less the image will be sharpened.
You will find that you will be in the +70-80 range for sharpening for food photography.
There is a lot to learn when it comes to shooting food, but hopefully, this guide has given you an overview of what’s involved and some ideas about how you can improve your images.
The more information you have, the more empowered you can be in your creative decisions.
Above all, lots of practice is what is going to take you to the next level in your food photography.
The post The dPS Ultimate Guide to Food Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.
The post Happy New Year 2019 and the Ultimate Guides of 2018! appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
Wishing you the happiest new year from the dPS family. We look forward to bringing you more great tutorials to help you on your photographic journey in 2019!
As a bonus, here is a summary of some amazing dPS Ultimate Guides we published in 2018 that may be helpful for you.
Each is available as a free PDF – just click on the ones you want to download below.
Enjoy, and if you feel these guides are valuable, please share this page with your friends!
The post Happy New Year 2019 and the Ultimate Guides of 2018! appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
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