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Canon USA closes its service centers in California, Illinois and New Jersey

24 Mar

Canon has announced it will be closing service facilities in a number of states within the United States due to a growing number of ‘stay at home’ directives from authorities across the nation. This decision from Canon comes just days after Nikon announced it too will be closing its U.S. repair facilities for the foreseeable future due to the restrictions being put in place amidst this global pandemic.

According to the advisory, Canon service facilities in California (Burbank and Costa Mesa), New Jersey (Lyndhurst) and Illinois (Itasca) will be closed ‘until further notice.’ Canon notes any products needing repair can be sent to its Factory Service Center in Newport News, Virginia (which is no longer accepting walk-in service at this time).

Canon also used the advisory to provide an update to consumers regarding how it’s currently handling its COVID-19 response, saying:

‘The spread of COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving situation that is of great concern to everyone. Canon’s commitment is to take proactive and proportional steps in accordance with all recommended procedures and protocols as advised by the CDC, the United States Government, and state, regional and local public health agencies.Again, we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to monitor the ongoing situation and follow the advice and guidance of federal and state authorities. The health and well-being of our customers, clients, and employees remain our top priority during this difficult time. As conditions change, we will take recommended and appropriate steps to restore and continue the excellent service that you have come to expect from Canon USA, Inc.’

An annotated screenshot from Canon showing the ‘request product repair’ button on its service website.

As before, Canon is directing customers to its online system to coordinate repairs and providing updates on its COVID-19 measures on its website.

We have contacted Canon to clarify if any other service centers around the world are currently affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We will update this article if we receive a response and will be updating this article if we receive news any other service centers shut down.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Learning to Embrace Lens Flaws to Add Character and Nuance to Your Images

24 Mar

The post Learning to Embrace Lens Flaws to Add Character and Nuance to Your Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Adam Welch.

Learning to Embrace Lens Flaws to Add Character and Nuance to Your Images Feature

As I grow increasingly “long in the tooth” so to speak, I look back over the last twenty years or so since I first picked up a camera and reflect. I entered the professional arena of photography relatively late, being in my mid-twenties before I began to think about photography more in terms of a profession rather than simply an enjoyable hobby. Since then, it’s been a wild ride. I’ve used all sorts of lenses and have been fortunate enough to evaluate a host of lenses for published tests, many of which can be found right here on Digital Photography School. As of late, I’ve noticed a marked difference in the way I approach lens flaws in my reviews.

A lens with lens flaws can be viewed as an asset

This has caused me to reevaluate how I approach not only my own professional lens tests but my attitudes towards my own lenses and personal photography.

Why do some of us expend our energy searching for a “perfect lens” and feel that a lens’s flaws are determinants of our work? This is the question we’re going to examine today.

Come along with me for a unique investigation of the attitude we often take towards lens flaws and why many of these individual nuances are completely paradoxical and can actually bolster the creative magnetism of your photographs.

A question of character

Consider for a moment what you might consider to be the “ideal lens.” Not in terms of focal length or aperture but rather the quality of the image it is capable of producing. Think about its sharpness and contrast, the way it renders colors, its vignetting, and distortion.

Naturally, I think many of us would like a lens that has maximum sharpness from corner to corner, crisp contrast, zero distortion and vignetting while producing true, rich color tonality.

Why do we think this way?

Lens flaws such as vignetting are sometimes added in post-processing — 24mm, 1/640th sec at F/2, ISO 320

What I mean here is why do we feel as if a perfect lens equates to a lens which carries no inherent flaws?

I think we can all agree that issues such as massive chromatic aberration aren’t desirable in any situation. However, I suggest we should begin to embrace other behaviors present in our lenses more as inherent character traits that can enhance our photos rather than issues to be avoided.

Going further (and likely stepping on a few toes), the approach that lenses ought to present the scene or subject as optical perfection could be viewed as quite a photo-modernist attitude.

We find ourselves bombarded with highly-advanced digital cameras capable of enormous resolving power.

Naturally, and rightfully so, we seek out lenses that we feel will bring out the most potential from our cameras. And yet, many of these lenses tend to present themselves as benignly unobtrusive tools that only serve to channel light into the camera while adding as little flavor as possible.

These are new concepts for a new time that have not always been so, at least not intentionally.

Woman crouching to make a photo in the desert — 24mm, 1/200th sec at F/10, ISO 80

An unfortunate byproduct of this “lens sterilization” approach is that many, especially those who are just beginning their journey as photo makers, feel a looming sense of inadequacy if their lens or lenses present themselves with so-called lens flaws.

This is a dangerously slippery slope that can often breed the notion of gear dependency over-reliance on one’s own creative opinion and self-expression.

Famous lens flaws

It’s arguably true that some of the best examples of the benefits of embracing the flaws present in your lens come from the recent resurgence of photographers opting to use vintage film lenses with their modern digital cameras. Not only are these lenses relatively inexpensive compared to more modern lenses, but they also carry unique characteristics that have come to be desired.

Case in point, the fabled Helios 44-2 lens.

The Helios 44-2 has lens flaws which are prized — My beloved Helios 44-2

The interesting thing about the Helios (and other vintage lenses) is that it offers a distinctive “swirly” bokeh that has become prized by portrait photographers and others.

Even more interesting is this swirl is brought about by the type of technical “flaw” with the lens elements, which results in the signature spherical aberration of the bokeh.

You can also approximately simulate this effect in Photoshop, which I describe here in this article.

The lens flaws of the Helios 44-2 caused the distinctive swirl bokeh in this photo. — Made with the Helios 44-2 at F/2, 1/320th sec and ISO 320. Note the distinctive swirling of the background.

There are, of course, other lenses that have been embraced due to their inherent optical qualities as of late. These include the cult classic Kodak Aero Ektar, the Zeiss Jena series, and the Lomography Petzval along with many others.

The Petzval, purposefully engineered to offer heavily swirling bokeh and vignetting, is especially interesting.

The bottom line here is there could very well be a predominantly apparent splitting of the schism with photographers choosing lenses that offer more inherent character. This makes for more unique photos as it is left to the user to determine the exact application where and when these lenses work best.

Embracing the imperfections

Let’s face it, there are many cases where we have to make do with the lenses we have, myself included.

I used my very first digital camera for years with only the “kit lens” included with the camera.

The lens wasn’t considered an upper-tier piece of glass, but it was all I knew and, for me, it was beautiful.

Looking back, I can’t find a fault other than my assumption that it wasn’t good enough because it was the lens that came in the box. This is highly revealing of the common mentality of today’s photographic climate. It’s quite easy to look at our gear as the scapegoat for what might be lacking in our photography simply, well…because.

There’s no denying that we all evolve as photographers and with that evolution, we must recognize that we will eventually outgrow our tools.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t shy away from our lenses because they might exhibit properties that are undesirable by the common mentality of our age.

Your lens isn’t sharp corner to corner? It has a heavy vignette at its wide-open aperture?

Think about these problems from a practical standpoint for a moment. How often do you add in a post-crop vignette in Lightroom during post-processing? Do you ever add an intentional Gaussian blur?

These questions hint at a deeper insight into our own approach to photography. Could it be that the very characteristics that we desire in our photographs tend to be viewed with a negative connotation depending on the context?

What’s the endgame?

The purpose of these thoughts is to show that the merits of any camera lens are truly based in the eye of the beholder.

Sure, there are some poorly-made, un-sharp monstrosity lenses out there that hinder rather than help you make the photographs you want. At the time, many of the lens flaws we have been conditioned to abhor possibly aren’t as detrimental as we might think once we drill down and identify for what they are.

This is the main objective of this article.

It could very well be that the old cliche’ of “the best lens is the one you have with” carries with it connotations which extend past mere practical convenience. This is especially applicable if you are new to photography.

As a professional photographer who has used some of the best modern lenses on the market, I can tell you my favorite lenses have been those that fit my own proclivities, regardless of their inherent flaws and quirks.

Lens flaws can make for great photos with character — Made with the Helios 44-2,

So I will leave you with this bit of hard-learned wisdom; there are no perfect lenses, just as there are no perfect photographs or perfect photographers for that matter.

All lenses have some measure of flaws, no matter their cost. Just because you might be using a “kit lens” or one that happens to have several so-called lens flaws, doesn’t mean that you can’t go out and make terrific photos as long as you shoot what makes you happy.

The post Learning to Embrace Lens Flaws to Add Character and Nuance to Your Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Adam Welch.

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Nikon temporarily suspends repairs to help reduce the transmission of COVID-19

24 Mar

Nikon USA has announced it’s temporarily suspending equipment repairs at its service facilities and no longer accepting new repairs due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

The move, which was done ‘in accordance with mandates issued by the federal government and various state governments,’ according to the announcement embedded below, ‘prioritizes the health and safety of [Nikon’s] employees and customers.’

A screenshot of the notification on Nikon’s repair service page.

Nikon Inc. President and CEO Bo Kajiwara also shared a letter, embedded below, with Nikon’s customers and partners to further explain the decision to shut down repairs and explain what other steps Nikon is taking amidst the pandemic.

Letter from Nikon Inc. President and CEO Bo Kajiwara

Dear Valued Customers, Partners, and Friends,

We are all experiencing unprecedented circumstances around the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the virus. Nikon’s top priority is the health and safety of our customers, employees and the communities we serve.

I am proud of the dedication of our Nikon team who are working remotely and remain focused on providing the highest level of support possible at this difficult time. We are closely monitoring the situation and following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and federal/state/local health authorities.

Nikon Inc. has taken steps to ensure the safety of its employees by instituting office closings and remote work strategies in line with state and federal government mandates. These include the temporary closure of our repair service centers to prioritize the safety of our workforce and help limit the spread of the virus.

For information about our repair service center change or to get in touch with a remote support representative, please visit: https://nikonusa.com/support

In the interim, Nikon online resources for education are available on the Nikonusa website: https://www.nikonusa.com/learnandexplore

We encourage everyone to take the necessary precautions to stay safe and to support their communities during this difficult time. We look forward to overcoming this global issue with great resolve and unity.

Read more: https://nikonrumors.com/2020/03/21/nikon-usa-no-longer-accepting-equipment-for-repair-covid-19.aspx/#ixzz6HYFGt6JM

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Everything a Beginner Should Know to Improve Their Street Photography

24 Mar

The post Everything a Beginner Should Know to Improve Their Street Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by James Maher.

Everything a Beginner Should Know to Improve Their Street Photography Featured Image

Street photography may seem simple on the surface, just a lot of waiting around looking for an interesting moment to happen. However, the reality is that it is one of the most difficult forms of photography. Particularly at the beginning, it can be very hard to improve in street photography.

The best moments don’t occur very often, and when they do, you have to be aware enough to see it quickly. You have to be brave enough to capture it, and your camera has to be set right.

A lot has to go right, but when it does, that’s when the magic happens. There is a specific set of tips that are important to learn early on that will make all of this much easier and, eventually, second nature.

Fear and timidness

Improve Street Photography — 1/150th at F8, ISO 1600

Fear and timidness are two of the toughest obstacles to overcome for new street photographers. If you don’t feel this way, then skip to the next tip! But most people have a lot of difficulty with this aspect at first. It takes time to overcome, but the less timid you can become, the faster you will be at capturing the best moments.

No matter how tasteful your photography is, street photography is a little creepy! We’re kind of stalking people on the street a bit. But it’s important to know that we’re doing this for a reason. We like people and we want to create interesting photos of our society.

The fear aspect will get better with time – the more you shoot, the easier it will get. But it can help early on to capture some street portraits to get you comfortable. You will quickly realize how many people will be flattered by what you are doing.

Another important thing to know is how to deal with a situation if you are caught.

I just like to smile and be honest. I tell the person that I was photographing the area and the people and culture, and I thought they looked great! Flattery can get you a long way.

If the person seems uncomfortable after you speak to them, offer to delete the shot. You don’t have to, of course, but it’s the right thing to do.

And always be careful about who you photograph. Sometimes, a photograph is just not worth the chance of getting yourself in trouble.

General camera settings

Street Photography Camera Settings — 1/350th at F5.6, ISO 1600

I typically prefer to shoot on Aperture or Shutter Priority settings. Since you are usually going back and forth between different levels of light, this allows you to focus on the scene itself instead of going back and forth on your camera settings. In steady lighting conditions, Manual Mode works very well, though.

Raise your ISO up! I typically use ISO 400 if I am in pure sunlight, ISO 800 in light shade, ISO 1600 in dark shade, and ISO 3200-6400 for dusk into night.

Raising the ISO allows you to have a faster shutter speed to freeze motion. It also gives you more depth of field to make sure you capture the focus correctly, or if you have multiple subjects at different depths.

On Aperture Priority, f/8 is usually my ideal setting whenever possible. It allows enough depth of field but also enough light to enter the camera. And as it gets darker, I will go down with the aperture.

Finally, I always try to keep my shutter speed above 1/250th of a second to freeze motion in people. The key on Aperture Priority is to pay attention to your shutter speed as the lighting gets darker, to make sure that it does not dip too far below 1/250th.

Prime lenses

Prime lenses are made for street photography. They are smaller, lighter, and less noticeable. Also, the act of using a single focal length will make you much faster and more intuitive with the camera. Using one is a key way to improve your street photography.

Zooming constantly will just slow you down and keep you off balance when a moment occurs. With a prime, you are ready when something happens.

I prefer a 35mm and 50mm focal length depending on what I am shooting. Both are wide enough to capture complicated shots that mix foreground and background, and they allow you to get close and intimate with your subjects.

Acting

When some people think of street photographers, they think of the photographers that jump out in people’s faces to take a photograph. It just does not have to be done in that way to get great, candid, close shots. I find the opposite approach to work much better.

I prefer to act like I am just looking around at something above or behind the subject I want to capture, and I carefully get myself in position. They just think I’m probably a tourist looking around, and while they notice me, they continue in their own world without realizing I’m photographing them.

I also take very quick shots where nobody notices. That way, you don’t have to do any acting in these situations. But, acting comes in handy very often.

Finally, you don’t always have to walk around while photographing. Pick an area with foot traffic and wait around. Doing this allows your subjects to enter your personal space instead of entering their space. It also allows you to get very close and nuanced photographs with much less chance of people noticing what you are doing.

Emotion and gesture

One of the keys to creating interesting street photography is showing emotion and feeling in your images. One of the best ways to do that is to capture those emotions and feelings in your subjects.

Pay attention to the looks in peoples’ eyes or the gestures in their bodies. Try to see who is walking around wearing their emotions on their sleeves, so to speak.

I would rather photograph a non-descript person with incredible emotion over the flashiest person just walking down the street emotionless.

Getting closer

This is a general tip for improving most photography, but it is especially difficult for street photography. The closer you get, the more intimate your moments will feel.

But you don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself at first. Start from further back and over time, work to get closer and closer. This is a process that can take a little time to get comfortable with.

Spontaneity and intuition

Everything a Beginner Should Know to Improve Their Street Photography — 1/250th at F9, ISO 3200

At some point, you need to become fast with your camera to capture some of those split-second moments. Embrace your intuition and work to become spontaneous and fast with the camera.

You will miss a lot of photographs this way and come back with a lot of bad ones (why editing is so important), but the special photographs will be special.

If you feel that there is the potential for a great photograph in your gut, just stop thinking and go for it. The worst that can happen is you will delete the photograph later on.

Imperfection

Unlike some other forms of photography, perfection is not celebrated as much in street photography. We’re looking for real and unplanned moments, and these moments are not perfect.

Sometimes the best way to improve your street photography is to just loosen up.

What matters is that the photograph is interesting and it looks good. Everything else is gravy. If the photograph has those qualities, who cares if it’s skewed, a little blurry, highlights are blown out, or if there’s an element in the way. That’s the real world.

Sometimes these aspects will ruin your photograph, of course, but just as often they’ll ground the moment in reality.

Photograph in busy and quiet places

As you are learning and getting comfortable, it’s very important to practice in busy places with a lot of foot traffic. This gives you many chances for great photographs and it’s easier to work in a candid way as well. This is how to work out the kinks and develop your technical skills and overall awareness.

But it is equally important to photograph in slower and quieter areas too.

These areas can be just as interesting and even more so than the busiest areas. It can take some time to get used to photographing here and figuring out what makes a good photograph, but you will be much better off for trying.

Conclusion – take photos for yourself

Street photography is about taking something that is internal, capturing it in the real world, and then showing those ideas in your work.

It’s not worth taking photographs that you think other people will find interesting. Ultimately, your work can only become so good that way.

Shoot what you think is the most interesting and forget about everyone else. Over time this is how you will develop a strong and distinct voice.

And most importantly, get out there and shoot as often as you can. That is the real way to improve your street photography.

Do you have any other tips to improve street photography that you’d like to share? Please do so in the comments, along with any street photos you’d like to share.

The post Everything a Beginner Should Know to Improve Their Street Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by James Maher.

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Canon EOS R5: Here’s why you probably don’t need 8K right now (and a few reasons why you might)

23 Mar

Here’s why you probably don’t need 8K right now (and why you might)

Canon’s recent announcement of the new EOS R5 wasn’t completely unexpected, but one of the camera’s key specifications, 8K video, did catch us a bit by surprise. 8K video has been in development for several years, but to date it’s mostly been limited to Hollywood-level cinema production and tech demos by Japanese broadcaster NHK.

With the R5 it looks like that may be about to change. In fact, we now know that the R5 will be able to capture 8K/30p using the full width of the sensor. Of course, there’s a lot more to video quality than just resolution, and we don’t expect the R5 to challenge a camera like the RED Helium 8K, but the fact that 8K is making its way into any consumer mirrorless camera suggests that this could be the tip of the iceberg.

With that in mind, let’s look at some reasons why you probably don’t need 8K video anytime soon – as well as a few reasons why you might.

Almost nobody is watching 8K

8K displays are absolutely incredible, and once you’ve seen one in person you can’t unsee it. It’s exciting to think that some day 8K displays will be everywhere.

But today, they’re not everywhere. In fact, they aren’t really anywhere except for niche locations like post-production environments or the living room of that guy down the street who always has the latest gizmo (and isn’t afraid to pay top dollar for it). Sure, 8K TVs are coming down in price, but they still run into the thousands of dollars and it will be a while before they’re commonplace.

8K TVs are coming down in price, but they still run into the thousands of dollars…

There’s also the question of whether most viewers will be able to see the difference between 4K and 8K. Even with good eyesight, human vision at typical viewing distances will be a limiting factor unless you’re using an exceptionally large display.

In short, there’s really no reason to get an 8K camera in order to deliver 8K content today.

You’ll probably need a new computer

Unless you’re in the high-end video production business, or possibly a really serious gamer, chances are pretty good that your current computer won’t be up to the task of editing 8K video.

The same thing happened when 4K video came on the scene. It wasn’t uncommon to discover that video rigs designed to cut through 1080p footage like butter could get mired down when working in 4K. We needed faster processors, faster video cards, faster storage and, of course, new 4K displays to take advantage of all that resolution.

We can expect similar challenges in the early days of 8K video. Early adopters will pay a premium to upgrade their editing equipment, so unless you really need to shoot 8K today it might be better to wait a couple years for better, and more affordable, mainstream support.

The files will be huge

Remember when we first started shooting 4K video and discovered just how big the files could be compared to HD? We needed larger memory cards, more of them, and in may cases, faster cards to accommodate the increased bit rates required for high quality 4K. Check out our recent review of the Panasonic S1H for a real world example of how this impacted DPReview’s Richard Butler.

Remember when we first started shooting 4K video and discovered just how big the files could be compared to HD?

Larger files also resulted in workflow changes. Some videographers who were used to editing entire projects on a laptop’s internal hard drive had to start carrying around external hard drives, and later, portable SSDs. Even archiving projects required more storage.

High quality 8K video will, to some degree, begin this cycle over again. At least this time we’re starting out in a world in which SSDs are ubiquitous, but we’re still going to need larger SSDs and faster connections to effectively work with 8K files. The good news is that SSDs are gaining capacity as prices continue to fall, and USB 4 promises to deliver faster connections for consumers without the high cost of Thunderbolt, but early adopters will again pay a premium.

Your current video lenses might hit their limits

A single frame of 4K video delivers around 8.2MP of resolution, something that’s comfortably within the resolving range of almost any lens from the modern digital era (and many earlier ones). In contrast, 8K video delivers roughly 33MP frames.

That’s within the working range of quite a few still cameras, and many recent optics are certainly capable of resolving that level of detail. If you already have higher resolving lenses that’s great, but if you’ve been shooting video using older lenses – including some from the digital era – you may find that you need to upgrade your glass to get the most out of 8K video.

To capture still photos from video

We’ve talked about several reasons why you probably don’t need 8K video today, but let’s consider a few reasons why you might want it anyway.

One might be to capture high quality still images from video. Heck, even 4K video provides enough resolution for many purposes, and features like Panasonic’s 4K and 6K Photo modes have been useful to many photographers. Having the option to capture 33MP images from video takes this to a whole new level.

At a recent NAB Show, Canon displayed a gallery of stunning photos that were extracted from 8K video frames; the quality was so high that they could have been shot with a modern DSLR. Of course, extracting photos from video may not be the ideal workflow for all types of photography, but for some it can work very well. We may very well see 8K photo modes on some cameras. Maybe even the R5.

For video post-production

8K video will provide immediate advantages when shooting and editing 4K projects; the camera operator will be able to plan a shot knowing it will be possible to ‘punch in’ later, and the editor will have more creative flexibility when cutting the project together.

The resolution provided by 8K will facilitate 2x cropping to 4K in post with no apparent loss of resolution, making it possible to simulate longer lenses or edit out distracting elements at the edges of a scene. It will also enable editing tricks like virtual zooms and pans. These techniques are frequently employed when editing 4K footage for HD delivery, but now the entire process can be scaled up.

8K will also allow you to do better green screen work. Good chroma-keying depends on the ability to discern fine details around the edges of your subject, such as hair. The more resolution you have to play with, the better. Other factors, such as color sub-sampling, are also important to the quality of green screen work, but all else being equal more resolution is an advantage.

To create even better 4K video

4K video is impressively detailed, but oversampled 4K video is even more detailed. So, even if you don’t need to create virtual crops, zooms or pans in your video you’ll still benefit from the effects of oversampling.

We’ve already seen a number of mirrorless cameras that oversample 4K in-camera, typically from a 6K starting point. However, sampling theory says that 8K is the minimum resolution you need to correctly capture the maximum resolution that 4K can show. In effect, it’s perfect oversampling, similar to the way the original Sony a7S (above) captured 4K and downsampled it to 1080 with zero luma aliasing.

To future-proof equipment

This one is tricky because it requires us to predict the future a bit more. However, there are a couple useful data points we can look at: 1) As a consumer technology, 4K video experienced more rapid adoption than many expected, and 2) The trend among camera buyers is to upgrade their cameras less frequently than they did in the past.

This suggests that 8K technology could be widely available more quickly than we anticipate as well. In fact, it’s already showing up on some smartphones. As a result, if you plan to keep your next camera for a while and want to make sure it’s future-proof, then it may be a good idea to ensure your next purchase is 8K-ready.

To future-proof content

There was a time when widespread access to HD TVs and displays seemed a long way off, but savvy content creators, including a lot of small, independent videographers, were already producing content in HD instead of SD. Why? Because they knew that if they didn’t, once HD was more widely adopted their content would appear dated quickly (and possibly even be excluded from some platforms).

This was true during the transition from HD to 4K as well, and we’ll likely see a similar trend as we move to 8K. Whether the visual difference between 4K and 8K at standard viewing distances is as noticeable as the previous transitions is debatable: both have so much detail it might be difficult to tell them apart.

Whether the visual difference between 4K and 8K at standard viewing distances is as noticeable as the previous transitions is debatable…

However, screens keep getting larger over time: the 24″ TV that sat in a family’s living room in the 1980s became a 65″ TV by the 2010s. If screens get big enough, the difference between 4K and 8K might actually become noticeable. There’s a counter argument to this, of course, which is that many people watch more content on the tiny screen that fits in their pocket than on a TV, so it depends a lot on your target audience.

Ultimately, if future-proofing your content is important, it might make sense to begin working in 8K early.

8K is coming, but do you need it now?

The Canon EOS R5 is likely the first of many cameras we’ll see with 8K video. At a technical level, we should at least recognize that this is a pretty impressive accomplishment for any manufacturer. However, whether you truly need 8K video in the near future is debatable.

If you’re the type of person who mostly shoots video to capture your own life adventures, share movies with friends on social media, or does fairly minimal editing on the video you shoot then there’s little incentive to adopt 8K today. Chances are good that you won’t notice much difference.

If you’re the type of person who mostly shoots video to capture your own life adventures… chances are good that you won’t notice much difference.

On the other hand, if you’re serious about video and produce 4K content, 8K has the potential to benefit your workflow: cropping to 4K in post, digital pans and zooms, and downsampling to create better 4K video being just a few examples. 8K will appeal to some stills photographers as well. Do you enjoy using 4K and 6K photo modes on your camera to nail the perfect frame? If so, you’ll probably love 8K photos.

Not sure if 8K is in your future? You can watch this 8K video on YouTube while you decide. Of course, you’ll need an 8K monitor to properly watch it, which you can find here. We’ll wait while you try it out.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Photos: SkyPixel 5th anniversary aerial imagery contest winners

23 Mar

SkyPixel 5th anniversary contest winners

SkyPixel, in partnership with DJI, Nikon, SanDisk, and Western Digital Corp, launched its 5th Anniversary Aerial Photo & Video contest on December 3rd. Entries closed on February 3rd and the results were announced earlier this week. The 56 category winners and finalists were awarded prize packages worth over $ 117,000. Since launching in 2014, the SkyPixel platform has attracted over 18 million aerial photographers and content creators from 140 countries.

‘I feel really grateful to be chosen as part of the winning crew of talented people who entered the SkyPixel contest. Taking first place in Sport was totally unexpected. I knew I had a good image but also understood I was going up against thousands of talented people in the community,’ Andy Leclerc, First Prize winner, tells DPReview.

‘The emotion and drama captured in this image (is) very powerful. Fantastic composition and post production,’ says judge Chris McLennan about the Grand Prize-winning image from Tony Wang.

Nominees are currently featured on the recommended photographers section, an area that receives over one million page views according to SkyPixel. They’ll also be considered for the role of DJI Creator. Winning photographs and videos will be showcased at DJI Flagship stores around the globe this Spring. To view all selected photos and videos, visit the SkyPixel 5th Anniversary Aerial Photo & Video Contest page.

Grand Prize: ‘Top of Java’ by Tony Wang (China)

About this photo: ‘Indonesia has the reputation of a volcanic country. Among the more than 400 volcanoes, 129 are active volcanoes. At 2 am, my team and I drove to the most unique viewing platform of Mount Bromo National Park. After shooting the Milky Way volcano, the sky gradually brightened. I decided to use the perspective of a DJI drone to overlook the sunrise of this volcanic park.

When the first rays of sunrise hit the volcano, there was nothing more beautiful than this moment. In the future, Mount Bromo in the foreground has been active for a long time, while the prospect of Mount Semeru is not always in an eruption state, and this picture of the eruption was fortunately captured by DJI.’

Gear and specs: Not available

First Prize: ‘EdgeRider’ by Andy Leclerc (US)

About this photo: ‘I captured my image “Edge Rider” with a Mavic 2 Pro. This particular photo was tricky to plan and execute, I had to get the sun position just right and have his shadow cast the perfect riding position. I used the PhotoPills app to plan for the sun’s position and the burst mode in my camera settings to be able to capture the “WOW” moment. It took 256 attempts to get it right but the results paid off,’ Leclerc reveals to DPReview.

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F5.7, 1/500s, ISO 100

First Prize: ‘The Epic Moment’ by Vincent Chen (Zambia)

About this photo: ‘I took this special selfie with Mavic 2 pro in Dolomites National Park, Italy. The setting sun hit at the peaks and clouds at sunset, it was really epic moment, I then used the pano mode to take the amazing whole scene.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F5, 1/500s, ISO 100

Second Prize: ‘Xiyun Buyun Pavilion’ by Yisan Xiao (China)

About this photo: ‘This is an aerial perspective of Xiyun Wetland Buyun Pavilion in the morning mist.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F5, 1/400s, ISO 100

Second Prize: ‘Family’ by Ben Mack (Australia)

About this photo: ‘A sight to see on Australia’s East coast. A mother whale with her newborn enjoying their migration South.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F3.6, 1/200s, ISO 100

Third Prize: ‘Aiken Spring’s Undead’ by Dreamland (China)

About this photo: ‘Aiken Spring is located on the vast ground at the foot of the Snow Mountain, with a wide horizon. Viewed from the air, various beautiful pictures have been formed around the eyes of the spring due to the long-term sulfur precipitation. Because there is no comprehensive detailed and reliable survey of Aiken Springs to date, this geological wonder has been cast a mystery.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F6, 1/240s, ISO 100

Third Prize: ‘Margaret River Surfing’ by Shaneri (Australia)

About this photo: ‘Margaret River, in Australia, is renowned for wine and the big winter swells that hit the coastline. This shot was captured last Winter.’

Gear and specs: DJI Phantom 4 Advanced, F5, 1/1000s, ISO 100

5th Anniversary Prize: ‘The Beauty of Greenland from Above’ by Albert (Netherlands)

About this photo: ‘Greenland is a truly magical place. We explored this place with our little red sail boats that made great contrast with the white and blue ice chunks everywhere. By using a drone I am able to show the immense size of of these ice bergs compared to our boats. At some point you forget that they’re pieces of ice. I used to just call them mountains.

It’s incredible to fly your drone above these giants. But Greenland’s atmosphere is incredible in general. The midnight sun colors lasting all night and casting their beautiful light on the ice and water. And not to mention the whales that I saw everyday. I enjoyed watching them play right from the coastline of Ilulissat.

You only realize how beautiful this place is when you’re actually there. There’s something magic about the whole atmosphere. It’s a place we should really cherish in the future and that will hopefully not lose its magic because of global warming.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F3.4, 1/100s, ISO 100

5th Anniversary Prize: ‘Populus Euphratica’ by Wang Hanbing (China)

About this photo: ‘In Western China, there is an ancient tree that condenses the heavens and the earth, crosses the ancient floods, stands proudly in the desert Gobi, and interprets the meaning of survival in a brilliant way. With the body of the cricket, it forms an eternal landscape and an eternal statue. It is Populus euphratica in the desert!

Populus euphratica, a hero tree in the desert, is not afraid of the sand and the heat with a tenacious character, a tenacious body, a stubborn destiny, a persistent spirit, and guarding his homeland, he has constructed the eternal theme of Populus euphratica and life; it With tenacious life and indomitable will, compose a song of life.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F6, 1/60s, ISO 100

Nominated Entry: ‘Coexistence’ by Dipanjan Pal (India)

About this photo: Captured in Iceland, ’it’s wonderful to see how nature and human can coexist together to create beauty, if we change our perspective a little.’

Gear and specs: Not available

Nominated Entry: ‘Autumn Memories’ by Yamaguchi

About this photo: ‘Located in the “Red Steel City” of Qingshan District, Wuhan, there are a number of staff quarters built by WISCO Group in the 50th century. They are all brick-concrete red roof tiles. The layout is regular and the floors are the same. “Double Happiness” has become a permanent memory of the older generation of WISCO.’

Gear and specs: Phantom 4 Pro, F5, 1/60s, ISO 100

Nominated Entry: ‘Boat Carrying Flowers’ by Tu?n Nguy?n (Vietnam)

About this photo: ‘The monk carried a flower boat in the river, flower pots are transported to the temple to decorate for Tet holidays, the shadow of the cloud shining on the river feels like a boat going in the clouds. I took this picture in Thap Muoi wetland, Vietnam.’

Gear and specs: Mavic 2 Pro, F5, 1/30s, ISO 100

People’s Choice Prize: ‘”Circle” Dream Guangzhou’ by Garrett Liu (China)

About this photo: ‘A night shot of the Guangzhou Yuan Building in China.’

Gear and specs: Mavic 2 Pro, F5, 1/8s, ISO 100

People’s Choice Prize: ‘Walls of Gold’ by Joe Orsi (US)

About this photo: ‘Here is Hohenzollern Castle during the golden hour.’

Gear and specs: Mavic 2 Pro, F4, 1/120s, ISO 100

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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The EOS-1D X Mark III shoots Canon’s best-ever JPEGs

23 Mar

We knew that the sensor Canon had put into its flagship EOS-1D X Mark III DSLR was going to be a good one, and we’ve put it in front of our studio test scene to see how it stacks up against its sports-shooting peers.

Raw and JPEG performance

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Right off the bat, we can see good detail capture$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4993–867727231”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4993); }); }) for this class of camera at lower ISO values$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4994-672421372”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4994); }); }), but that’s not really a surprise. These cameras need to just work, in any situation, and the EOS-1D X III delivers in extremely low light$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4995–734843880”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4995); }); }) with noise levels noticeably lower than its predecessor. The Sony has a resolution advantage, but when we downscale all the cameras to a common resolution, the Canon still looks impressive$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4996-1281065173”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4996); }); }). However, the Nikon D5 continues to reign supreme as higher ISO$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4997-1755766028”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4997); }); }) values approach absurdity$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4998–2071627873”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4998); }); }).

Sports shooters and photojournalists also value good JPEGs$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4999-1823666868”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4999); }); }), as they will often be either forbidden from sending in edited Raw files, or they need to get a smaller file off to their editors as quickly as possible. While the JPEG engines on these cameras are all very customizable, we can see the default values Canon has dialed in are improved. The text here is noticeably less ‘blob-y’ than the 1D X Mark II, and the Mark III holds onto fine detail$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-5000-731235669”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(5000); }); }) better across the scene$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-5001-634885912”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(5001); }); }). The new camera is using finer radius sharpening, which is emphasizing (and not over-writing) the finest detail that it’s capturing. It’s still not quite a match for the Sony a9, though.

The Mark III also strikes a better balance than its predecessor between noise reduction and detail retention in JPEG at higher ISO values$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-5002-1799783590”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(5002); }); }). It’s an impressive showing$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-5003-14569280”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(5003); }); }), but again, not quite a match for Sony’s context-sensitive noise reduction.

Now it’s true that the 1D X III also shoots HEIF files, meant for high-dynamic range displays. These files show noticeably more dynamic range than the company’s JPEG files, and we’ll be delving more into this in our full review.

Now, let’s take a look at dynamic range on the next page.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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The Canon EOS R6 Will Have Dual Card Slots, 20 FPS Shooting

23 Mar

The post The Canon EOS R6 Will Have Dual Card Slots, 20 FPS Shooting appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Canon EOS R6 Rumors - The Canon EOS R6 Will Have Dual Card Slots, 20 FPS Shooting

The Canon EOS R5 has been attracting a lot of attention recently with its 45 MP sensor, blazing-fast shooting speeds, and 8K video.

So much attention, in fact, that you’d be forgiven if you weren’t aware of Canon’s other soon-to-drop mirrorless model, the EOS R6.

To be fair, the EOS R6 hasn’t been officially announced by Canon. All the information we have on it comes from rumors, but this type of rumor tends to be pretty accurate, and there’s little doubt that the EOS R6 will debut in 2020.

So what can we expect from this new mirrorless body?

First, the R6 will have a full-frame sensor, but one that packs just 20 MP, making it Canon’s lowest resolution EOS R model to date.

Not that 20 MP is insufficient for most purposes, of course, but it comes as something of a surprise, especially given that Canon’s enthusiast full-frame mirrorless model, the EOS RP, features 26 MP.

Fortunately, a low-resolution sensor can often make way for other features, such as high continuous shooting speeds. On that front, I have good news:

The EOS R6 will shoot up to 12 frames per second using the mechanical shutter and 20 frames per second using the electronic shutter, putting it above many of the action-centric cameras currently on the market. If you’re looking to shoot sports or wildlife, that’s more than enough speed for top-of-the-line images.

The EOS R6 will also offer in-body image stabilization, making it the only Canon mirrorless body, aside from the upcoming R5, to do so.

And if all these specs weren’t interesting enough, we have a new EOS R6 rumor on the docket, suggesting that the camera will offer dual card slots, but will also have an EVF and build quality that can’t match the R5.

So what, exactly, is this camera shaping up to be?

It’s highly likely that Canon engineers are working on a professionally-oriented sports body (often dubbed the EOS R1), but this is almost certainly not it. The lack of a rugged build, plus the lower-resolution electronic viewfinder, suggests that the R6 will be an enthusiast camera rather than a professional one. Plus, I can’t see Canon releasing another 1D-type camera, just a few months after the 1D X Mark III was announced.

Instead, the EOS R6 is shaping up to be a Canon 6D, of sorts. A camera with excellent full-frame image quality, but lacking the durability of a true pro body, and probably limited in other areas (such as customizability).

But note that the EOS R6 is no simple rehash of the 6D series. The presence of in-body image stabilization and ultra-fast shooting speeds suggest that Canon has thoroughly “mirrorlessed” this new model, and the result is likely to make quite a splash.

While the EOS R6’s release date is currently unknown, and the situation with coronavirus is causing production delays, look out for an announcement in May.

Now over to you:

What do you think of the EOS R6 rumors? Who do you think this camera is meant for? Would you be interested? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post The Canon EOS R6 Will Have Dual Card Slots, 20 FPS Shooting appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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File Management Tips to Create a More Efficient Photography Workflow

22 Mar

The post File Management Tips to Create a More Efficient Photography Workflow appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

As you gain more clients, this also means that you’ll have to start implementing a more efficient workflow so that you can work quickly and get your images to your clients. In this article, we’re going to explain some file management tips to help you stay organized session to session.

What is a photography workflow?

A workflow is a process in which a photographer has a file management system in place that helps them to get images edited and processed faster and more efficiently.

Basically, it’s a way to organize your images so that you can get them to your clients much faster. The way that a photographer manages their workflow can be different from person to person depending on what they photograph, their workloads, and what the end goal for their clients is.

In time, you’ll be able to implement these file management tips so that your workflow is quick, and you’re able to deliver the images to your clients faster. You’ll also access the images on your hard drives quicker when you need them because they’ll be nice and organized.

Uploading the images

The first of the file management tips regards uploading your photos to your computer. Some like to go straight into Lightroom or the editing program and upload the images directly.

However, I recommend that you first upload your images onto your actual hard drive. This can be directly onto your computer’s hard drive, an external hard drive, or both. Uploading to both is the best option since sometimes computers can shut down or stop working and you wouldn’t want to lose your photos!

Make sure to copy the images from the memory card rather than moving them. Doing this means if the upload didn’t go smoothly, you still have all of the images safe on the memory card.

Here are the steps to organize the Upload of your images onto your computer or external hard drive:

Create a folder with the year 2020
You can now create separate folders for the types of sessions you do. However, this is not required and it depends on how you want to manage your files.
Create a folder and name it according to the shoot date, last name of your client, a dash, then the location or something specific. For example 2020.03.06 Burns Family – Secrets Resort Puerto Vallarta

File Management Tips to Create a More Efficient Photography Workflow

The location is optional, but it does help keep the information to the session together. It’s also good for searching later on when you want to find a location photo to post on social media or otherwise.

Renaming the images

Renaming images can seem like an added step, however, keeping the naming simple with numerical sequence, adds more organization in the end.

It’s tough when looking for an image by the original image name of IMG_ when it would be much quicker to remember the name and then look for an image that way.

Rename with the last name, a dash, then the sequence number, for example, Burns-0001. Use more than three zeros so that you can safely number the images when you have more than one hundred images.

If you have more than a thousand, use another zero. This can keep all of your images organized and you won’t get jumping numbers from 01 and 11.

When you import the images into your editing program, the renaming stays and will get saved the same when you’re finished editing. This is really helpful especially when the family wants a particular photo to order. They can simply use the sequence number and you can quickly find the image in the edited folder.

Importing into Lightroom

Now that you’ve organized the session into the yearly folder, session folder, and have renamed the files you’re ready to import into Lightroom.

Some photographers like to import the images straight from the memory card into Lightroom but creating the folders seems easier in Finder than in Lightroom. However, with time, you can choose how you want to import the photos that help your workflow work for you.

There are two different options to choose from when importing. You can simply add the photos, which is the simplest choice seeing that we’ve already backed them up onto your hard drive in the desired folders. Or the COPY option, which will create a duplicate of your image into a specific folder on your desktop. This usually creates a copy in another place and can take up unnecessary storage on your computer.

We’ll go with the ADD option today since we have put the originals in the specific folder we made earlier.

Check the Collection option and put them into a Collection with the date and name – just like we did in the source folder.

This will make it easier to find the folders in the left sidebar while editing without making multiple duplicates or without getting lost in the Import or Folders section.

Now we’re ready for editing!

Organized editing

In Lightroom, editing can seem like a lot of work. However, you’ll want to go through this process so that your workflow is quicker and editing time is minimized.

Use the color tags to choose your favorites. This is how I personally tag the photos using the number keys:

Number 9 is Blue for chosen images
Number 8 is green for additional editing – usually when I have to swap out ahead or do some major editing.

After you’ve used the color of your choice for the chosen photos, at the bottom of the screen is a Filter option. Choose the blue square (or the colors you’ve chosen), so that all you see are the photos tagged Blue.

The great thing about using the filter and colors is that if you missed a photo somewhere, you can turn off the filter and go back and choose more photos to edit or tag.

Alternatively, you can untag a photo and it will hide it from view. Then you can just edit the blue-tagged photos without additional clutter.

Using the color tags in the toggle on/off filter modes keeps your photos organized, in the same folder, and easy to edit.

Exporting your final images

The final of the file management tips is exporting your final images.

After you’ve edited your photos it’s now time to keep them organized so that you can find the final edited photos with ease.

Go into the Library window, with the color tag filter ON, choose all of the images you’ve edited with the Select All option, and click Export.

Choose the same folder your images are in, but create a subfolder with the words EDIT (or you can choose whichever name is best for you). This will create a folder within the original source folder on your hard drive.

This keeps all of the images from that session in the same location, which makes it easier to find later on.

file management tips for better workflow — As you can see, the edit folder appears in the family session folder with the RAW files. The final jpeg images are named the same for easier referencing.

In conclusion

These file management tips will help you categorize and catalog your sessions so that you have a more efficient photography workflow from start to finish.

Do you have any other file management tips to better organize your workflow? Share with us in the comments.

The post File Management Tips to Create a More Efficient Photography Workflow appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

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Great Photography Ideas for When You Are Stuck Indoors

22 Mar

The post Great Photography Ideas for When You Are Stuck Indoors appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

Great Photography Ideas for When You Are Stuck Indoors featured image

In Australia right now, it’s bushfire season. And this year, it has been a particularly bad one. That means that for a significant part of the Summer so far, I’ve been stuck indoors trying to avoid noxious bush fire smoke. To top it off, now we have the Coronavirus to contend with. Usually, the majority of my photography is based outside. But to keep myself sane, I’ve been busying myself with photography projects around the house. Here are some tried-and-tested photography ideas for when you are stuck indoors.

photography ideas for when you are stuck indoors abstract lines — f/7.1 1/40 ISO 500

Photograph the ordinary

When you’re stuck indoors, it can seem like the subject matter is limited. However, under the eye of the camera, ordinary objects can become extraordinary.

As photographers, we are trained to seek out unusual and distinctive subject matter, so day-to-day objects can fall by the wayside. But responding to the subjects in your immediate environment can offer a new creative perspective, expanding your photographic repertoire.

photography ideas for when you are stuck indoors objects — f/4.0 1/100 ISO 320 | f/4.0 1/100 ISO 1000 | f/4.0 1/40 ISO 1000

Try blurred or unfocused photography

Photographers generally strive to achieve sharply focused images. But if you’re stuck indoors, shifting your technique a little can be a refreshing change. Blurry or deliberately out-of-focus photography can render unexpectedly beautiful results.

During a longer exposure, try physically moving your camera around to cultivate streaks of light. Or, instead of focusing on achieving pin-sharp photographs, switch your camera to manual focus and embrace an intriguing blurry aesthetic.

photography ideas for when you are stuck indoors plant abstract — f/1.8 1/40 ISO 320

Adopt abstraction

Abstract photography is a field of photography that doesn’t rely on objective subject matter. Instead, abstract photographers aim to convey ideas by focusing on the emotive experience of image-making and viewing.

There are plenty of subjects found indoors that you can use to generate abstract images. Try isolating subject matter with macro photography, or focusing in on interesting textured surfaces.

photography tips for when you are stuck indoors color abstract — f/2.2 1/100 ISO 100

Pretty polarization

In terms of photography ideas for when you are stuck indoors, this has to be one of my favorites. This little project involves photographing the stress-points of plastic objects.

While it might not sound particularly exciting, taking photographs of polarized plastic reveals colorful, otherworldly visual attributes in materials that are often taken for granted.

With a polarizing filter, a computer screen and a selection of plastic objects, you can investigate the materials around you in a whole new light. Have a look at the full guide here.

Great Photography Ideas for When You Are Stuck Indoors

Get into physiograms

Another great photography idea for when you are stuck indoors is physiography. Physiography involves recording the movements of a swinging light suspended over a camera during a long exposure. Because the light source needs to be suspended from a sturdy roof or beam and the project needs to be performed in the dark, physiograms are a great photography idea for when you are stuck indoors.

Check out the how-to here.

Switch it up

This photography idea for when you are stuck indoors is a simple one – change it up a bit!

Photography at home can impact your practice in every environment. So, if you are inclined to photograph in color, why not take advantage of your time indoors and practice black and white photography instead?

If you shoot in aperture priority, try switching to shutter priority.

If you are used to shooting landscapes, try focusing on details around the house. Have a go with a lesser-used lens, or even have a go at improving your camera-phone skills.

Study time

Whether it’s online, in a book or a magazine or on a podcast, there is a wealth of information about photography available. Reading up on photography is a great photography idea for when you are stuck indoors. Study new techniques, brush up on your photographic history, revisit camera theory…the options are endless.

Grab a book or kindle etc, settle in and get some knowledge.

photography ideas for when you are stuck indoors study books

Re-visit old photos

If (like me) you have a steadily growing stockpile of digital images that need a little TLC, you’re in luck. Being stuck indoors is a great time to revisit those old files hidden in the depths of your hard drive.

If you aren’t in the mood for photography around the house, editing old photos is a great alternative. Plus, you may find some gems that somehow went under the radar!

Conclusion

Being stuck indoors may seem like a real pain…until you realize the wealth of photographic opportunities around you! Whether it be experimenting with abstraction, polarization, or physiograms, or taking some time-out to study or re-visit old photos, there are plenty of photography ideas for when you are stuck indoors.

The hard bit is choosing which one to try first!

The post Great Photography Ideas for When You Are Stuck Indoors appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

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A question of character

Famous lens flaws

Embracing the imperfections

What’s the endgame?

Letter from Nikon Inc. President and CEO Bo Kajiwara

Fear and timidness

General camera settings

Prime lenses

Acting

Emotion and gesture

Getting closer

Spontaneity and intuition

Imperfection

Photograph in busy and quiet places

Conclusion – take photos for yourself

Here’s why you probably don’t need 8K right now (and why you might)

Almost nobody is watching 8K

You’ll probably need a new computer

The files will be huge

Your current video lenses might hit their limits

To capture still photos from video

For video post-production

To create even better 4K video

To future-proof equipment

To future-proof content

8K is coming, but do you need it now?

SkyPixel 5th anniversary contest winners

Grand Prize: ‘Top of Java’ by Tony Wang (China)

First Prize: ‘EdgeRider’ by Andy Leclerc (US)

First Prize: ‘The Epic Moment’ by Vincent Chen (Zambia)

Second Prize: ‘Xiyun Buyun Pavilion’ by Yisan Xiao (China)

Second Prize: ‘Family’ by Ben Mack (Australia)

Third Prize: ‘Aiken Spring’s Undead’ by Dreamland (China)

Third Prize: ‘Margaret River Surfing’ by Shaneri (Australia)

5th Anniversary Prize: ‘The Beauty of Greenland from Above’ by Albert (Netherlands)

5th Anniversary Prize: ‘Populus Euphratica’ by Wang Hanbing (China)

Nominated Entry: ‘Coexistence’ by Dipanjan Pal (India)

Nominated Entry: ‘Autumn Memories’ by Yamaguchi

Nominated Entry: ‘Boat Carrying Flowers’ by Tu?n Nguy?n (Vietnam)

People’s Choice Prize: ‘”Circle” Dream Guangzhou’ by Garrett Liu (China)

People’s Choice Prize: ‘Walls of Gold’ by Joe Orsi (US)

Raw and JPEG performance

What is a photography workflow?

Uploading the images

Renaming the images

Importing into Lightroom

Organized editing

Exporting your final images

In conclusion

Photograph the ordinary

Try blurred or unfocused photography

Adopt abstraction

Pretty polarization

Get into physiograms

Switch it up

Study time

Re-visit old photos

Conclusion

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