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How to Capture the Colors of Autumn in Your Photography

08 Nov

The post How to Capture the Colors of Autumn in Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jeremy Flint.

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Autumn is a great time to get out with your camera. This magical season brings an array of attractive photography conditions including wonderful morning mist, dramatic light and a palette of changing colors. Capturing the colors of autumn is high on the bucket list of many landscape photographers and it is the favourite season for nature photographers in pursuit of the perfect fall photo. To help you get the best photos possible during this popular season read on to consider some fundamental points:

1. Find a suitable subject

Autumn Colors 01

With the right approach, you can achieve some of your best scenic autumn shots.

The first thing to think about is what subject you are going to shoot. There are a number of great subjects that vie for your attention including scenes of vibrant landscapes, a tree, leaves or water and the landscape. These subjects are suitable because they show the true spirit of autumn and the best of the season when the leaves change color and become more intense.

Other ideas for subjects include capturing a building, landmark, footpath or bridge within a colorful landscape. Combining these elements with fall foliage illustrate the season beautifully.

2. Light

Autumn Colors 02

Don’t limit yourself to shooting on bright and sunny days. Overcast conditions are also great for recording subtle, even tones as the light is soft with less contrast. Rivers are particularly enticing to shoot when there is cloud cover, particularly when adding warmth with autumn colors.

3. Location

How to Capture the Colors of Autumn in Your Photography

Location is everything when it comes to achieving your best autumn pictures. You could focus a photography vacation around the colors of autumn, or spend a day or two chasing the season’s hues.

Some of the best regions in the world include New England and the Colorado Rockies. Whilst some countries such as the UK are not renowned for their autumn splendor, there are many parks, woodlands, and areas of outstanding natural beauty that you can visit for a shoot.

4. Shoot a wide view

Autumn Colors 04

One great way to document the autumn colors is to capture a wider field of view. Photographing trees as part of a larger landscape, using colorful leaves in the background or to frame your subject works really well. This approach gives a more visually interesting image than a picture of a building or landmark on its own. It also helps tell the viewer the time of year the photo was created.

5. Isolate patterns of color

Another technique is to shoot the colors of autumn in isolation. Beautiful shades of red, yellow, brown and orange can look great. Look out for patterns amongst leaves which could include single and complementary colors or interesting shapes. By focussing your lens towards a particular section of a forest canopy or an attractive collection of leaves, you can add order and impact to your images whilst creating some visually pleasing results.

6. Use backlight

A great technique to use when shooting fall foliage is to shoot directly towards the sun. Shooting into the light can result in stunning images as the backlit leaves of autumn glow and reflect the vibrant colors. Be aware of flare when using backlight and shooting into the sun. By partially shielding the sun behind a tree it can help to reduce any unwanted flare.

7. Shoot with sidelight

Autumn Colors 05

Another way to shoot autumn is to use sidelight to your advantage. Capture the canopy of colors side-on to the angle of the sun. The complementary colors of oranges and yellows combined with a blue sky can work very well together. The warmer tones from the foliage offset the coolness of a blue sky perfectly.

8. Look down

Autumn Colors 06

When exploring wonderful scenes of autumn color, it is easy to forget to look down. Don’t be disheartened if the trees are bare and the leaves have all fallen; you can still capture the colors of autumn on the ground. This is evident in late autumn when the forest floor is as colorful as the treetops. Depending on the type of tree, there are often varying elements of fall color from these leaves, which are definitely worth photographing.

9. Fog and mist

How to Capture the Colors of Autumn in Your Photography

Finally, incorporate any signs of fog and mist into your autumn photos. These dramatic conditions can lift a picture by adding a touch of mood, atmosphere, and mystery to a colorful scene. Capture the morning mist rising from a lake, a forest cloaked in fog or subtle mist over a city or landscape for a visually stunning element that will improve any autumnal scene.

How to capture the colors of autumn in your photography: conclusion

Autumn is an awesome time of the year to be out with your camera capturing beautiful photos, particularly when exploring locations in search of color. So grab your camera and get out to your nearest park or woodland. Enjoy the autumn and see what you can create.

What other tips do you have to photograph the colors of autumn? Share with us in the comments and share your autumn images too!

 

The post How to Capture the Colors of Autumn in Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jeremy Flint.


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Updated: Sony a6600 sample gallery

08 Nov

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The Sony a6600 made its debut in late August, and in the months since then we’ve been testing it out in a wide range of situations. Our initial sample image gallery has been updated with images from our latest testing, including an artistic painting competition, because why not?

See our updated Sony a6600 sample gallery

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Storytelling in Photography: What It Is and How You Can Improve It

08 Nov

The post Storytelling in Photography: What It Is and How You Can Improve It appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

storytelling-in-photography

From photography contests to job offerings, the term storytelling is becoming more and more popular. But, do you know what storytelling in photography is? In this article, I’ll share with you some facts that help you understand what it is; and some tips on how you can improve it in your photography.

What is storytelling in photography?

I’ve heard many definitions of storytelling in photography from an explanation that compared it to a bowl of ice cream, to the classic “an image is worth a thousand words.” What I got from all of them is that you need to portray a message and convey a feeling.

Storytelling in Photography: What It Is and How You Can Improve It

Let’s get started by clarifying some of the most common doubts.

Types of photography

So, what type of photography uses storytelling? The truth is, if you want to improve your photography, you have to tell a story regardless of the type of photography you do. A wedding photographer tells the story of a couple as much as a documentarian reports an event. Here are some ideas:

  • How to Create a Documentary Photography Project.
  • How to Make Storytelling Landscape Photos – 4 Steps.
  • 5 Steps to Creative Storytelling in Pictures with Your Kids.

Single photos vs. multi-image projects

Think about it this way: in magazines, sometimes you have an entire article spanning pages, and other times just a cover image. Storytelling in photography can be about an entire project, but it also refers to single images. For example, this image was picked as the cover for a compilation of short stories centered around women’s sensuality.

storytelling in photography

Perhaps it’s easier to think about storytelling when you refer to a series of images. This is because we can associate it with a narrative that has a beginning, middle with a climax, and an ending. If you’re not feeling confident about it yet, learn How to Shoot a Sequence of Photos That Capture a Story.

How to tell a story?

Research

First of all, you need to do your research. Each type of photography will have different needs and it’s harder to tell a story that you don’t know. For example, once I was invited to visit a beekeeping farm “whenever I wanted.” At that moment, the extent of my knowledge about honey was simply where to buy it and how much I like to put in my tea.

Storytelling in Photography: What It Is and How You Can Improve It

To make the most of my visit, I had to pick the right time to be there. I learned about the process of honey harvesting and extraction, and the time of the year it happens. Then I learned how it depended on the weather and the type of flowers in the area. Thanks to this research, I was able to capture an image of a fully-capped honeycomb ready for harvesting.

Technique

It’s a given that being a photographer means you know how to take a well-exposed photograph, but this isn’t enough when it comes to telling a story. The technique needs to work in your favor, so it’s not just about which settings but why those settings.

Storytelling in Photography: What It Is and How You Can Improve It

Every decision you make changes the final result. A warmer or cooler light gives a different type of atmosphere. Where you put the focus point and how deep you set the depth of field directs your viewer’s eye, and so on.  It’s not only about having a technically perfect photo, but it’s also about making the perfect photo to tell the perfect story.

 

How to improve your storytelling in photography

Ask for help

Always ask others what they ‘read’ in your photographic images. This will help you understand if the message you want to portray is being received. This scene I witnessed in a local park really moved me, so I decided to photograph it. I later found out that I didn’t manage to capture the feeling of the moment, as the photo wasn’t much appreciated when I asked for opinions.

[Editor’s comment: I don’t agree here – I think this photo says a lot about the connection of a child and their favorite toy that they love to include in everything they do. To me, the child is treating the toy as a friend who is playing on the see-saw with them. Also, while there is a level cuteness, there is also a sense of sadness at perhaps having no one else to play with but a stuffed toy.]

storytelling in photography

Passion

Your work will always be more effective if you are passionate about what you’re doing. Find out what interests you and what your style is. If you’re having trouble finding your way, I suggest reading To Specialize or Not to Specialize with Your Photography.

storytelling in photography

Training

Keep your eye trained by looking at how the professionals tackle storytelling. Browse through magazines, go to exhibitions, check the winning images in contests, and follow them on Instagram. While you do this, also start doing your own and keep on practicing. Remember, it’s okay to fail, as long as you learn from it and keep trying.

Conclusion

Storytelling in photography is the ability to transport the viewers into a particular scene and atmosphere. While in there, you convey the message in a way that gets your audience involved, interested and leaves them wanting more. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing a single photo or a full project, a documentary or advertising, tell your story so that you can portray exactly what you want your viewer to know, or leave them to ponder multiple possibilities.

Do you have other tips for doing storytelling in photography? If so, share with us in the comments, along with any images you’d like to share.

The post Storytelling in Photography: What It Is and How You Can Improve It appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.


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Sigma fp gallery: photos from the world’s smallest full-frame camera

08 Nov

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The Sigma fp claims the title of ‘world’s smallest full-frame camera,’ offering a 24.6MP sensor in a svelte body that’s not much bigger than your standard compact camera. It’s equipped with plenty of features to keep a serious videographer happy, but we’re also interested in its still photo quality. Take a look at our first shots with Sigma’s surprising little full-framer.

See our Sigma fp sample gallery

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The Kandao QooCam 8K is an affordable pocket-sized 8K 360-degree camera

08 Nov

360-degree cameras cover a much larger field of view than conventional cameras, which is why a high pixel count is essential for capturing good detail. Most current consumer models max out at 4K resolution, though, with 8K video reserved for bulkier high-end models that are mostly aimed at professionals.

Chinese manufacturer Kandao is now changing this, however. Today, the company has launched QooCam 8K, which it calls the ‘first pocketable 8K 360-degree camera.’

The camera uses a pair of fisheye lenses and 1/1.7” sensors to capture stills and video; it’s also capable of 16-bit DNG capture and 10-bit color for stills. It offers automated image stacking at Raw level for increased dynamic range and detail and can also record 4K video at 120 frames per second.

Kandao’s Super Steady electronic stabilization uses a 6-axis gyro to smooth video footage without the need for a gimbal and, according to the manufacturer, makes the QooCam 8K usable as an action cam.

A 2.4-inch OLED touchscreen lets you check shooting information, preview and playback footage and adjust parameters without connecting a smartphone. Footage can be edited and reframed in the dedicated QooCam App or QooCam Studio which include templates for those who are beginners in the world of 360-degree editing.

Additionally, the QooCam 8K can be used to live stream 360-degree video in 4K with in-camera real-time stitching. It is compatible Facebook, Youtube and other platforms. The
Kandao QooCam 8K 360-degree camera is now available for pre-order on the Kandao website for 599 Euros (approximately $ 660). Shipping is scheduled for December 2019.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Adobe’s #ProjectAboutFace can detect when portraits are altered and undo the edits

08 Nov

Adobe has collaborated with researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, to develop a new tool to detect when photos have been digitally altered using Photoshop’s Face-Aware Liquify tool and adjust them back to the original image.

The prototype tool, codenamed ‘Project About Face,’ will pore over an image pixel-by-pixel and create a heat map showing where it believes the image is most likely altered. From there, the edits can effectively be undone to show what the original image looked like.

According to Adobe, the tool is nearly twice as accurate as humans at detecting when a photograph has been altered. In its testing, Project About Face was able to detect altered images with 99-percent accuracy compared to the 53-percent accuracy of the human test group.

Since this only works with images edited inside Photoshop with its Face-Aware Liquify tool, the practical application isn’t widespread, but it’s a neat teaser nonetheless for future fake-detection methods.

Project About Face is just one of the many ‘Sneaks’ Adobe teased this year at Adobe MAX. Like many of the Sneaks, it’s unlikely we’ll see this tool available anytime soon, but it goes to show the growing possibilities of Adobe’s Sensei AI.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Xiaomi patent hints at future smartphone with pop-up selfie camera and 8K recording

08 Nov

A new patent belonging to Chinese company Xiaomi has surfaced revealing a new camera design that includes a pop-up selfie camera and a rear square zoom lens. The patent was first spotted by Dutch website Let’s Go Digital, which notes that the patent was recently registered by the Hague International Design System.

The Xiaomi patent covers a mobile phone that features a vertical array of cameras on the back of the handset; the top square lens is believed to possibly be a zoom lens, whereas the lower three circles potentially include another camera, an LED flash, and a third sensor of some type.

The pop-up illustration below shows how the company will handle offering a front-facing camera that doesn’t blemish the model’s bezel-less display.

The patent was granted on August 9, about a month before XDA Developers revealed the existence of a new Xiaomi smartphone featuring a camera with 5x optical zoom and 50x digital zoom. The discovery was made in the beta version of a Xiaomi software update, which itself came shortly before the official unveiling of its new Mi Note 10.

The Mi Note 10 features five cameras, including one with 50x digital zoom and one with 5x optical zoom. It’s unclear whether XDA’s discovery was ultimately pointing toward the Mi Note 10 or a future Xiaomi model, which may have been teased in the newly-published mobile phone patent.

The details uncovered in the software update indicated that the related Xiaomi phone would include 8K/30fps video recording capabilities. In that case, the combination of a newly granted patent and the beta software details make the case for there being another major Xiaomi smartphone in the pipeline, one that may be introduced in 2020.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Getty Images is phasing out rights-managed ‘creative images’ in favor of royalty free content

07 Nov

Getty Images has announced that in an effort to streamline the complexities of imaging licensing it will be phasing out rights-managed content in favor of royalty-free imagery for its creative image submissions.

According to the blog post, Getty Images will move to a royalty-free-only creative images offer ‘during 2020,’ with no specific date mentioned. Once the transition goes into effect, image buyers will only see royalty-free creative images.

In the meantime, Getty Images is in the process of a ‘phased retirement’ of rights-managed creative images. To kick off the transition, Getty Images contributors can no longer submit new rights-managed creative images to GettyImages.com (as of November 6, 2019) and by the end of January 2020, all rights-managed images will ‘be removed from single image licensing (sometimes called à la carte) on GettyImages.com.’

After being removed from the single image licensing option, photographers ‘will be able to distribute [their] RM images as [they] wish, with the exception that [they] must not license any rights-managed images (or similar) in a way that conflicts with any active, unexpired exclusive licenses.’

A screenshot of the Getty Images creative content search with the search inquiry ‘mirrorless camera.’

Getty Images says in the announcement it’s ’confidently concluded that the [rights-managed] creative image licensing model no longer meets our [buyers] needs’ following ‘extensive customer research and testing on royalty-free versus rights?managed [content].’

Getty backs up these claims in an FAQ section at the bottom of the article, titled ‘What evidence do you have for customers rejecting rights?managed?’ saying it’s seen a steady ‘year?over?year decline in Creative [rights-managed] à la carte licenses over the last five years, with declines accelerating over time.’

Without seeing the data Getty Images is referencing, it’s difficult to confirm or dispel its reasoning for the transition. The move to royalty-free licensing for creative images gives photographers less control over how their images are used, but should simplify the process for buyers, which in turn could make it more likely their photographs are licensed. Getty Images says ‘Licensing complexity has only led [image buyers] to other content, and in many cases, another provider as the broader industry is now essentially a royalty-free?only model.’

Rights-managed licensing will still be available for Getty Images editorial stills and rights-ready video content, so for the time being it’s only creative images that are affected. If you currently have creative images submitted for inspection, Getty addresses how those images will be handled in the FAQ in the announcement post.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Drone registration and pilot testing will be mandatory in the UK

07 Nov

Even though no solid evidence has been presented in regards to drones being involved, incidents at both Gatwick and Heathrow airports, which saw thousands of flights grounded and delayed for days, have inspired the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority to enforce more regulations. The government agency is requiring all operators over the age of 18 to pass an online pilot’s test and register their unmanned aerial vehicle by November 30th.

This deadline applies to remote pilots flying model aircraft weighing between 250 grams (.55 pounds) and 20 kilograms (about 44 pounds). Exemptions to these mandatory rules have been granted to the following organizations:

  • The UK Drone Association (Arpas UK)
  • British Model Flying Association
  • Scottish Aeromodellers’ Association
  • Large Model Association
  • FPV UK

Besides registering the drone, owners must obtain their flyer ID which requires taking and passing a theory (pilot) test. Adults and children under 13 can still fly but they must pass the test, and kids must be registered to fly by a parent or guardian. The drone’s main operator must be 18 or older and is responsible for ensuring every person flying their aircraft is both registered and has passed their theory test.

Registration is relatively inexpensive at £9 ($ 12). Similar to U.S. rules, drone owners will be given a unique ID that must be affixed to their drone in a way that’s easily identifiable. Anyone caught flying a drone that is not registered could incur a fine of up to £1000 ($ 1290).

DJI has recently created the Mavic Mini, which weights under 250 grams, to circumvent registration requirements. While operators of these lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles many not need to register with the Federal Aviation Administration, Civil Aviation Authority, or other similar agencies (always check your local laws), remote pilots still need to abide by standard aviation rules or face the consequences if caught.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Why Are Wide Angle Lenses so Expensive

07 Nov

If you could’ve taken one more step back, your shot would’ve been perfect. But one more step would’ve sent you plummeting to the bottom of the canyon. You decide it’s time to add a wide angle lens to your collection. But how do you justify the expense? And why are wide angle lenses so expensive anyway? Manufacturers encounter a few Continue Reading

The post Why Are Wide Angle Lenses so Expensive appeared first on Photodoto.


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