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How to Dramatically Shape the Light and Mood Using Adjustment Brushes in Lightroom (video)

18 Apr

The post How to Dramatically Shape the Light and Mood Using Adjustment Brushes in Lightroom (video) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

How to Dramatically Shape the Light and Mood Using Adjustment Brushes in Lightroom (video) Featured image

In this video from PiXimperfect, you’ll learn how to dramatically shape the light and mood of a photo using Adjustment Brushes in Lightroom.

Throughout this tutorial you’ll learn:

the difference between local adjustments and global adjustments
how to auto-set particular sliders
ways to expand the tonal range
how to avoid edge glow when using particular sliders
about the tone curve and how to use it effectively
valuable shortcuts to help you see when you are creating clipping (blown-out, and underexposed areas with no detail), to view before and after shots, to select the adjustment brush and more
how to use the HSL panel to great effect
ways to use split toning

We’d love to see the images you edit after watching this tutorial. Please share them with us in the comments section.

Fun 5-Second Photos – Using Long Exposures for Creative Images

17 Apr

The post Fun 5-Second Photos – Using Long Exposures for Creative Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

Survey your collection of photos, and I’d bet that most will have been taken at 1/30th of a second or faster. Usually, we want to freeze any action, getting as sharp an image as possible. Other times, however, we might want to purposefully use long exposures for creative images.

Silky waterfalls, streaked clouds, oceans waves that look more like mist – those are the images where we might use shutter speeds that last multiple seconds or even minutes. But how about a middle-ground, say a 5-second exposure? What kinds of looks might that give you?

Fun 5-Second Photos - Using Long Exposures for Creative Images — I wanted to tap into the frozen, non-moving ice and the moving fluid water in this photo. I needed an ND filter to get me to the shutter speed I wanted. Canon 6D with Canon 24-105mm lens, 6-seconds, f/22 ISO 100.

For the examples in this article, let’s be a little flexible saying anything between four and eight seconds is what we’re interested in.

Fortunately, Lightroom can filter images by looking at the shutter speed recorded in the Exif data. I was easily able to see which of the over 105,500 images in my Lightroom catalog fell into that range. It was just 1,036 of those or .981%.

So, while perhaps shutter speeds in the 5-second range are not often used for general photography, as you will see, occasionally that range is just right for the look you seek.

Tripod or hand-held?

The “inverse focal-length rule” says that to prevent camera shake blur you should always try to shoot at 1/lens focal length as your minimum for hand-holding your camera. For example, using your 70-200mm zoom lens if you were zoomed wide to 70mm your shutter speed should be 1/70th or faster like 1/100th of a second.

Zoom in to the full 200mm setting, and you’d best be at 1/250th or faster to prevent camera shake.

Those rules apply here. If you intend only to blur those things that move during your 5-second exposure, you’ll definitely need a tripod. However, there might be situations where you could make a 5-second exposure without one:

Your creative intent is to show some camera motion blur. A creative “swish-pan” is a good example.
No tripods are allowed where you are working. Crowded places, sports events, indoor locations or other places might not allow you to use a tripod. Come up with some workarounds – brace your camera against something, set it down on a bench or something, and use the 2-second timer for a hands-off shot. Maybe you could carry a beanbag or improvise with your jacket. If smaller variations of a tripod are allowed, things like a Gorillapod or Platypod might be the answer.
Consider mirror lockup to reduce vibration.

Exposure

You’re familiar with the “exposure triangle” right? If not, follow this link to learn about it. It is foundational knowledge for all serious photographers. Briefly, it states that all exposures are governed by three things, the “holy trinity” of photography:

Shutter speed (how long the sensor is exposed to light),
Aperture (the size of the hole through which light enters),
ISO (the sensitivity of the sensor to light).

Whether you are in Manual mode, Full Auto, or any other camera exposure mode, those three things are always at work. Now, if we’ve already decided we want a 5-second shutter speed, we’re left with just the other two to control our exposure.

ISO and Aperture – which?

You are likely going to want to choose one of two modes when practicing 5-second exposures: Full Manual (which will give you full control over all settings), or Shutter Priority (Tv on Canon and Pentax, S on Nikon and Sony).

Shutter priority lets you choose and lock in a shutter speed and then the camera adjusts aperture (the f/stop) and ISO (if you have that in Auto ISO). If not, ISO will be locked to whatever you set.

Now, you’ve locked in 5-seconds as your shutter speed, should you use Aperture, ISO, or maybe both to get the exposure right? Like so many things in photography, the answer is, “it depends.”

Let’s speak to ISO first. We’re trying to make a 5-second exposure. Doing so will allow quite a bit of light into the camera. So as not to overexpose the image, dialing down the ISO will help. Many cameras have 100 ISO as their lowest setting. Some can go down to 50 ISO. The benefit of lower ISO is less noise. So, set to the lowest ISO possible, yes? Sure, but that by itself may not get you there, and there are other considerations.

Let’s consider aperture.

Setting the aperture (remember the aperture is the “hole.” The term f/stop is the way we reference the “size of the hole.”) to a larger number, i.e. f/11, f/16, or f/22 will let in less light. That too may help us get that 5-second exposure.

Of course, changing aperture also affects the depth of field. We could also encounter a reduction of sharpness if we use the smallest apertures due to what is called “diffraction.”

Proper exposure while considering the implications of each “leg of the exposure triangle” is always a juggling act. If you’re still a novice photographer who has always used automatic exposure settings, I might have lost you here. If so, I suggested you read up on these things:

Aperture
Shutter Speed
ISO
Exposure Triangle
Lens “Sweet Spot”
Depth of Field
Lens Diffraction

Cut the light

So, we have our shutter speed set at 5-seconds, our ISO at say 50, and an aperture of f/22. We check and see the image will still be overexposed. What now? Well, as we might put on sunglasses on a bright day to cut the amount of light coming into our eyes, in photography we use neutral-density (ND) filters.

These come in various grades of darkness. A rating system indicates how many stops of light they reduce. Each increase of ND 0.3 results in one additional stop of light reduction. So an ND 1.8 is a six-stop filter.

That means whatever a good exposure for the scene might be with no filter, putting such a filter on will allow you to adjust to the now correct exposure by six stops.

If all of this makes your head hurt, I suggest downloading a free ND calculator app (Android / iOS) which will tell you the settings you need.

Lee Filters (who makes a 6-stop ND filter called the “Little Stopper,” and a 10-stop filter called the “Big Stopper“) offers a nice free app. To use an example, if I had to shoot in bright daylight and the longest shutter speed I could use was at 1/200th of a second, using a 10-stop Big Stopper could get me down to that 5-second shutter speed.

Another option is a “variable ND filter.” These have two layered polarized filters, that when rotated, allow progressive darkening. They can be nice, but sometimes introduce weird visual artifacts, create color casts and such, particularly at darker settings and when using wider focal lengths. Do some research before you decide to buy one of these.

Standard circular polarizing filters can work to a degree as they will typically cut light by 1.5-2.5 stops. You can stack filters too, but a word of caution here – stacking filters runs the risk of vignetting the image, or worse, sometimes stacked filters can get stuck on the lens. This is a sure way to ruin your day. A filter wrench is a good tool to have in your kit.

ND filters can help you get a longer shutter speed if light conditions are bright. — In daylight conditions, even with a small aperture and low ISO, you might not be able to get to the longer shutter speed you’d like and have the proper exposure. ND filters which cut the light are often the answer. All of these photos were done with such a filter.

Suitable scenes

Okay, techy stuff out of the way. When and why might you want to take 5-second exposures? Let’s look at some example photos.

Flowing water

Use a slower shutter speed for silky water effects. — Silky water effects are a favorite with photographers. Slower shutter speeds allow you to get the look. Note the various shutter speeds on these images. A recommended practice is to bracket your moving water shots. The speed, volume, and proximity of the water to the camera will make a difference when finding that “just right” shutter speed to create the look you like.

Smooth water, streaked clouds

Special Effects

Fireworks

Zoom during exposure

Combining with flash

Low light and night photography

Light painting

Lightning

Now go “take five”

So what is the “right” shutter speed to use? When making long exposures for creative images there is no absolute.

Use the shutter speed that best captures the vision you had when making the image. Learn to adjust aperture and ISO to get you to that speed you want and ND filters when you must. The key is taking control of your camera.

As a master painter knows exactly what brush and stroke to use, you as a photographer can make masterful photos when you know the right settings and controls to use. If you have not typically worked in the 5-second shutter speed range, use the photos in this article as inspiration. Now, go “take five.”

The post Fun 5-Second Photos – Using Long Exposures for Creative Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

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Landscape Editing Techniques for Fine Art Photography Using Lightroom

12 Apr

The post Landscape Editing Techniques for Fine Art Photography Using Lightroom appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this video from the photographer, Marvin Grey, you’ll learn some fine art landscape editing techniques in Lightroom that will give you the opportunity to experiment with your landscapes to give them a whole new look and feel.

While the results may not be for everyone, the techniques he uses will teach you some valuable Lightroom editing techniques that you can use in other editing scenarios.

And what better time to tackle and play with our catalogs of landscape photos and learn some new landscape editing techniques while we are at home!

Feel free to share your results with us in the comments below.

1. Setup

The first thing you should make sure you do with your graphics tablet is to ensure that it is set up properly.

Many devices have plug-and-play functionality and will seem to work by just plugging them in. This isn’t the case.

In most cases, while you may have use of the pen, the full functionality of your tablet won’t be open to you until you install and setup the relevant software. Ensure any you install any relevant drivers for your tablet and if it has a software suite, go through all of the options and make sure it is set up in a way that works for you.

Image: A lot of tablets will seem to work without any software installed, but it is important to mak...

A lot of tablets will seem to work without any software installed, but it is important to make sure that you do install it, or you will be missing out on a lot of features.

Your preferences may change over time. If you find that something could be working better for you, do look in the software to see if any of the settings there can help you solve any issue you might be having.

2. Shortcut buttons

After you’ve set-up the basics, you can now move on to the shortcut buttons.

Most graphics tablets offer a number of programmable buttons that you can program and set to any function you choose. Some cheaper tablets might have only a few buttons, while some of the more expensive ones can be covered in them.

How you program them is up to you. A good way to approach this is to take a moment and examine your normal workflow in Photoshop. What actions do you make the most? Which of those actions would be easier (and suitable) to use at the click of a button?

Once you’ve done that, all you have to do is set-up the buttons in a way that suits you.

Image: You have full control over how your shortcut buttons are setup. Use these in any way that sui...

You have full control over how your shortcut buttons are setup. Use these in any way that suits the way you work.

Now, I don’t like using the shortcut buttons and they don’t suit me. The only one I use is the one that allows me to rotate the canvas. That may be the case for you too. That’s fine, and you shouldn’t feel obligated to use something that doesn’t suit your needs or approach.

3. Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts while using a graphics tablet make a powerful combo.

Even with a tablet, you will still use the keyboard a lot for Photoshop shortcuts. Be sure to memorize any that are relevant to you.

Whether you are using Lightroom, Photoshop or any of the other software packages, you will still be using the keyboard alongside your graphics tablet for photo editing.

These programs hold so much functionality that there’s no way that everything you can do could be contained to a few buttons. As such, do spend some time learning as many of the keyboard shortcuts as you can (or at least the ones relevant to your workflow).

Using both a stylus and a keyboard at the same time can seem counterintuitive at first, but you will quickly find it’s nothing to worry about.

4. Undo

Speaking of keyboard shortcuts, there is one that you already probably use more than any other. That, of course, is Ctrl+z (cmd+z) to undo your last action. Be prepared to use this a lot.

Using a pen allows you to work with precision strokes, and just like in drawing, not all of those strokes are going to be perfect the first time. There is nothing wrong with undoing something over and over again until you get it right, so do get comfortable with ctrl+z (cmd+z) and ctrl+alt+z (cmd+alt=z).

You could always set this to a shortcut button on your tablet if you think that option would be good for you.

5. Brush settings

When you start using a graphics tablet for photo editing, you unlock a few features in Photoshop that were previously unavailable to you.

The most important of these are the brush settings; specifically, they’re the pen pressure settings. By turning these on, you give yourself control of the brush pressure through how much pressure you apply to the tablet.

For example, if you have the Always Use Pressure for Size option clicked, then the brush size will change depending on how hard you press down with the pen.

If it’s the opacity option you are using, then a light touch will result in a low opacity from your brush. Turn them both on, and the effects combine.

Image: Taking control of the pressure settings is one of the most powerful aspects of using a graphi...

Taking control of the pressure settings is one of the most powerful aspects of using a graphics tablet for photo editing.

These settings are powerful, and on their own, one of the biggest reasons to use a tablet if you’re on the fence about them. Get to know these settings intimately as they will define your use of your graphics tablet for photo editing.

6. Tilting brushes

This is a bit of a wild card, as you might never use one of these brushes for retouching photos. However, because they exist, it’s good to know about them before you stumble onto them by accident and think your tablet is broken.

Using a graphics tablet unlocks features in Photoshop that are otherwise unavailable.

This charcoal pencil brush responds to the way you hold your pen. Here, all of these lines were made by holding the pen in different positions with all of the pressure settings turned off.

These brushes respond to the way you hold your pen and alter the shape and texture of their output. This replicates how a traditional artist would use a brush or pencil (or other tools) to create different strokes and marks.

If nothing else, it is a fun feature to play with, and if you can figure out how to use it with your photography, more power to you.

7. Digital art tutorials

Using a graphics tablet for retouching can be both intuitive and counterintuitive at the same time. If you have any art background at all (I do not), you will find it easier than other photographers without that kind of background, and you can skip this tip.

If, like me, you don’t have any experience with art (either traditional or digital), I highly recommend taking the time to watch and read some digital painting tutorials.

Some of the most useful types of tutorials are:

Drawing lines – These exercises will give you control over your stylus and help you get used to the pressure sensitivity of your tablet. They will also help you make more precise movements, which will overall help to increase the quality of your output.

Follow digital painting tutorials to get better at using a graphics tablet.

Following tutorials that teach you how to practice making lines and other marks will help you to gain confidence and experience with using your tablet.

Rendering – Digital painting tutorials that deal with painting with values can be an invaluable asset when your using techniques like dodging and burning. These techniques will help you blend your values better and teach you to make more controlled adjustments.

8. Brushstrokes and control

Now that you have watched some tutorials on the subject, don’t forget to actually practice them.

Taking the time to set up a blank canvas and practice your brush strokes with the various pressure settings will only help you to become proficient with your tablet faster.

The same goes for blending values for the retouching techniques that use them. Practice as much as you can, both inside and outside of retouching.

Practice using a graphics tablet as often as possible.

Don’t just follow the tutorials once. Practice a lot at first and then make it a point to practice some more at regular intervals.

9. Warm-up

This one is entirely optional, but if you’re feeling stiff and not getting the results you want, you can borrow another technique from traditional artists and do some warm-up exercises.

There’s nothing fancy here, just set up a blank canvas in Photoshop and spend time practicing your lines and rendering (two or three minutes might be plenty), or whatever else you will be using in your retouching session.

10. Practice, practice, practice

The best way to get to grips with your graphics tablet is to use it a lot.

Just like everything else in life, if you want to get proficient in using a graphics tablet, there is only one solution:

Use it.

Put in as much mileage as you can as quickly as you can. You should find that any challenges you face in the beginning are quickly put to rest.

The end

There you have it, 10 tips to help you get the most out of using a graphics tablet for photo editing. While there is nothing complicated here, I hope that you will have found something that will help you get the most out of your graphics tablet for photo editing in the early days.

If you have any tips that you feel I have left out, please leave them in the comments below.

The post 10 Tips for Using a Graphics Tablet for Easier Photo Editing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

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JPEG Committee explores using AI and blockchain tech for image compression

25 Feb

On February 17, the JPEG Committee published the results from its 86th Meeting, detailing some of the topics of discussions and potential future plans. Among other things, the committee issued a Call for Evidence on what it refers to as learning-based image coding solutions, something following the JPEG AI activity the committee launched a year ago. As well, the committee has expanded discussions on the use of blockchain technology and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) for JPEG.

During the 85th JPEG meeting last year, an effort dubbed JPEG AI was initiated in order to explore the use of image coding technologies to increase compression efficiency. During the new 86th JPEG meeting, this effort was expanded to a formal Call for Evidence, which is described as the first step in considering the ‘standardization of such approaches in image compression.’

In the JPEG AI Call for Evidence, JPEG Committee states:

‘This activity aims to find evidence for image coding technologies that offer substantially better compression efficiency than available image codecs with models obtained from a large amount of visual data and that can efficiently represent the wide variety of visual content that is available nowadays.’

In addition, the most recent meeting featured an Open Discussion Session on Media Blockchain that involved ‘interactive discussions’ on media blockchain and its various uses, namely its suitability for addressing ‘challenges in transparent and trustable media transactions.’ The committee has shared the presentations and pitch slides from these discussions on its website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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7 Tips for Using a Tripod in Landscape and Travel Photography

22 Feb

The post 7 Tips for Using a Tripod in Landscape and Travel Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this video from Julian Elliott Photography, he gives you 7 tips for using a tripod in landscape and travel photography.

You may want to know why you need a tripod at all when you do landscape and travel photography? There are times when you will want to use slower shutter speeds. For example, when doing long exposures to get silky smooth waters, shooting in low light situations, or for bracketing exposures.

So watch Julian’s video and find out some invaluable tips on how to get the most out of your tripod, how to keep it in good condition, and how to use it.

1. Keep colors simple for the best compositions

When it comes to tips for using color, this is a big one.

Because colors are like compositional elements of their own.

And if you add too many compositional elements, you’ll overwhelm the viewer and cause them to turn away.

The trick is to keep the colors simple. Try to photograph scenes that only have a few obvious colors.

Three colors are okay, especially if one of them is dominant. In the photo below, you’ll notice strong blues and greens, with a slight orange on the building.

24mm, f/5.6, 1/1000, ISO 400

Two colors are even better.

And one color can work, too, such as when framed against a white backdrop.

In fact, when in doubt, reduce the number of colors. As you approach a potential composition, think about how you can simplify the colors.

That way, your composition will turn out looking beautiful: strong, simple, and artistic.

2. Use contrasting colors to add pop to your shots

Now that you know the most fundamental tip for using color in your photography, it’s time to look at specific combinations of colors that work really, really well.

The most popular color combination (and my absolutely favorite) is contrasting colors, like this:

400mm, f/6.3, 1/1250, ISO 250

You see, contrasting colors are colors that sit opposite one another on the color wheel.

(These are also known as complementary colors.)

And they look great together because they can create powerful tension in your photos. Plus, each complementary color works to make the other pop.

Some common contrasting color pairs are:

Green and red
Blue and orange
Purple and yellow

Now, the more equal the amounts of each contrasting color, the greater the tension in your photo.

This color wheel shows the opposing (contrasting/complementary colors).

So you can play with the extent to which both colors are featured in order to create different looks.

A lot of green and a lot of red creates an obvious clash.

But a lot of green with a few spots of red feels much more balanced (though the red will still pop powerfully off the screen). That’s what I did in the photo above; I combined the red of the spoonbill with the green of the background, for a balanced image.

Make sense?

Note that you don’t have to be super precise about choosing complementary colors. Color contrast is a spectrum, not an absolute. So if you end up with a green and purple pair as opposed to a green and red pair, you’ll still get a sense of tension.

It just won’t be quite as strong as the true complementary colors.

3. Use analogous colors to add harmony to your images

As I explained in the tip for using color above:

Color contrast is good.

But sometimes you’re not looking to create tension in your photos. Sometimes you’re not looking to make aspects of your photo really stand out.

Instead, you might want to keep things looking peaceful throughout your image. Like this:

50mm, f/3.2, 1/400s, ISO 250

In cases like the one above, you should avoid contrasting colors, and instead use analogous colors.

These are colors that sit next to one another on the color wheel.

Some common analogous color pairs are:

Green and yellow
Purple and blue
Red and orange
Green and blue
Red and purple

And see what happens when you put some analogous colors together:

They convey a sense of harmony. Rather than clashing with one another, analogous colors keep the peace.

105mm, f/7.1, 1/250s, ISO 320

That’s why analogous colors are perfect for more subdued scenes, such as yellow and green trees standing together in autumn, or a blue flower resting alone in a field. The harmonious color combination will maintain that wonderfully serene feeling (as long as the rest of the composition is aimed at producing serenity, that is!).

Oh, and don’t be afraid of using three analogous colors together. You can always use combinations such as green, blue, and purple or green, yellow, and blue to create especially peaceful scenes!

So whenever you’re trying to capture a more subdued photo, look for analogous colors.

4. Keep your subject more colorful than the background to focus the viewer

If you’re capturing a photo with a clear subject, then you often want to make the subject pop off the background.

In other words, you want to focus the viewer. You want to keep their attention on the subject of the photo.

And you can do that by using color. You just have to make sure your subject features much more powerful colors than the background.

100mm, f/5, 1/125, ISO 250

Here’s how it works:

Start by finding a colorful subject. The colors should be bold and saturated. For instance, a red flower, a blue building, a yellow car, etc.

And make sure it’s positioned in front of a boring background. Something with less color, even something that’s all white or all black.

The lack of color from the background, combined with the powerful color from your subject, will ensure that it’s the subject that catches the viewer’s eye.

This is one of my favorite tips for using colors, simply because it creates such powerful images. Whenever I see photos that use a colorful subject on a plain background, my eyes immediately go to the subject; everything is clear and simple.

Bottom line:

Don’t always feel like you need a colorful background to complement a colorful subject.

It often pays to keep the background much less interesting!

5. Include colorless areas to add a sense of balance

Here’s your final tip for using color in photography:

Don’t always feel like you need lots of color in your photos.

Instead, feel free to add in colorless areas: areas of black, areas of white, areas of gray.

Why?

Because colorless areas act like negative space in images that are full of color. They give the viewer a chance to rest. They balance out the overall composition.

Sure, a shot with areas of black or white often won’t look quite as eye-catching as a photo full of color contrasts.

But it’ll feel more balanced, which is what composition is often about.

For instance, a photo like this feels just right with a white background:

50mm, f/8, 1/320s, ISO 250

And if the background were, say, red, the photo would be overwhelming.

So don’t be afraid to include colorless areas in your photos. Put your subject on black. Put your subject on white.

Because even though color is a powerful tool to use, it’s also one that you need to tone down on occasion.

5 Tips for using color to improve your photography: Conclusion

Now that you’ve finished this article on tips for using color, you should feel confident incorporating different colors into your photos and using color combinations for stunning results.

So all that’s left to do?

Get out and start practicing. Try to find different color combinations. Experiment with different options, and carefully evaluate the results.

As long as you follow these five tips for using color…

…you’ll be capturing some stunning images in no time!

Do you have any other tips for using color that you’d like to share with us? Perhaps you’d like to share some of the images you take after reading this article? If so, please share them with us in the comments.

24mm, f/4, 1/500, ISO 250

The post 5 Tips for Using Color to Improve Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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Posts Tagged ‘Using’

Throughout this tutorial you’ll learn:

You may also like:

Tripod or hand-held?

Exposure

ISO and Aperture – which?

Cut the light

Suitable scenes

Flowing water

Smooth water, streaked clouds

Special Effects

Fireworks

Zoom during exposure

Combining with flash

Low light and night photography

Light painting

Lightning

Now go “take five”

You may also like:

1. Setup

2. Shortcut buttons

3. Keyboard shortcuts

4. Undo

5. Brush settings

6. Tilting brushes

7. Digital art tutorials

8. Brushstrokes and control

9. Warm-up

10. Practice, practice, practice

The end

You may also like:

1. Keep colors simple for the best compositions

2. Use contrasting colors to add pop to your shots

3. Use analogous colors to add harmony to your images

4. Keep your subject more colorful than the background to focus the viewer

5. Include colorless areas to add a sense of balance

5 Tips for using color to improve your photography: Conclusion