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Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips
The post Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

Sunrise pictures can be tricky. Even the most dedicated photographer can get frustrated with sub-par results, often with foregrounds that are too dark or a nice round sun that appears white and washed-out. While things like timing and technique are critical for taking good sunrise pictures, another element is the editing. With a few Lightroom sunrise photo editing tips, you can take a boring, bland sunrise and turn it into a work of art.

To get a good finished photo you need a solid starting point. That means your initial sunrise photo needs to meet a few basic parameters:
- It must be shot in RAW.
- The sky should be properly exposed, which means the foreground will be dark.
- It’s helpful to shoot with low ISO values to give you as much headroom as possible when editing.
If you start with a sunrise photo that meets these parameters, you can use a few sliders and options in Lightroom to bring out the colors and brilliance that you saw with your eyes when you shot it.

To illustrate this process, I’m going to walk through an example of sunrise photo editing. The picture below is a RAW file straight out of my camera.

Original RAW file straight from my camera. Nikon D750, 50mm, f/4, 1/180 second, ISO 320.

This picture might not look very impressive, but that’s the point. If I had exposed for the foreground, the dark areas would be bright and natural. The trade-off is that parts of the sky would be so bright they would be unrecoverable in Lightroom.

Everything needed for a beautiful sunrise photo is fully intact in this dark, underexposed image. I just need to coax out the colors with a little sunrise photo editing.

Step 1: Shadows

The first thing to do is brighten the foreground by adjusting the shadows. Locate the Basic Panel in the Lightroom Develop module and push the Shadows slider all the way to the right.

Boosting the shadows will make the dark foreground a lot more usable.

This makes the foreground much brighter. It is very close to how the scene looked when I shot the picture. I was on my bike, and there’s no way I would have ridden to work that morning in the complete pitch black!

With the shadows lifted, the foreground is brighter. You can also see that there is plenty of image data captured in the RAW file to work with.

Step 2: White balance and graduated filters

After bringing up the shadows, the next step is to tweak the colors of the sky and foreground. The graduated filter is perfect for this since your edits are applied gradually, as the name implies.

Graduated Filters are ideal for sunrise photos.

The values you use for this will depend greatly on the look you want in your picture. For a good starting point, I recommend lowering the Temperature, raising the Whites, and increasing the Saturation. Feel free to tweak the other settings to your liking, but I recommend being a little conservative at this point. You can always go back and change things later. If you have objects protruding into your sky like trees, buildings, or mountains, you can use the Range Mask option. Then your edits are only applied to the sky and nothing else.

When using a Graduated Filter on the sky, I like to lower the color temperature and increase saturation. You might find other tweaks to be helpful as well.

After adjusting the sky, use a second Graduated Filter to perform a similar operation on the foreground. Click the New button at the top of the Graduated Filter panel, and click-and-drag on the picture to apply your filter.

Move the Temperature slider to the right so the foreground is a little warmer. Then adjust other options like Exposure, Texture, and Sharpness as needed.

A second Graduated Filter in the opposite direction can be useful for giving the foreground a warmer white balance.

There’s no correct way to do this next step because everyone has unique taste and preferences. I used the following values on the image above, but your results will vary depending on your picture.

When applying a second Graduated Filter to the foreground, it can be useful to edit some other parameters as well, especially Exposure and Shadows.

Step 3: Crop the picture

Some will debate the exact stage in the process where you need to crop your picture. Others will say that a good photographer should use what comes out of the camera and never crop anything! I say it’s your picture and if you want to crop, go right ahead. I recommend cropping after your basic adjustments are in place. Those operations can bring out things formerly hidden and give you a better sense of how you really want to crop the image.

In the image I’m working with for this example, I don’t like the “Speed Limit 35” sign on the right side. If I crop that out, then I need also to re-frame the picture, so the sun is in the middle.

You can use cropping to get the dimensions and proportions of your picture just right.

Step 4: General Color Adjustments

After making your initial set of adjustments, and cropping the picture to your liking, it’s time to head to the HSL/Color panel to tweak the individual colors of the sunrise. Bring up the Saturation level of orange, blue, and red while also adjusting the Hue and Luminance to get just the right look. As before, be careful not to go overboard since too much tweaking makes your picture look unnatural.

For the picture below, I adjusted the Hue and Saturation of Blue by +20 each, and the Saturation of Orange by 14.

Adjusting the blues and oranges can really bring out some of the vivid colors of a sunrise picture.

Don’t overdo your adjustments or your image will look fake and over-saturated.

Step 5: Detailed enhancements

As with cropping, some photographers have varying opinions on when to do this step while others skip it entirely. I like to do it near the end of the editing process after I have made my other adjustments. However, you might find it better utilized at an earlier phase. Head back to the Basic panel where everything began and fine-tune a couple of other sliders like Highlights, Whites, Texture, and even Exposure if you need to.

Final tweaks help put the finishing touches on your sunrise.

At this point, you’re really just putting the finishing touches on, almost like adding a pinch of salt or garlic powder to a pot of soup that’s ready to eat. I sometimes get lost down an image-editing rabbit hole at this step. I find myself endlessly tweaking the sliders in a vain attempt to chase perfection. If that happens to you, walk away from your computer for an hour. When you return, you may be pleasantly surprised at how good your picture looks, with no additional tweaking required.

You can also use the Spot Removal tool to clean up dust or dirt on the lens as well as fix other imperfections. There are also several Sharpening options to make your sunrise a little more clear and crisp.

From good to great

As with most photo editing situations, your results will vary greatly depending on a variety of factors. I have found that this same process, with different degrees of adjustments to the sliders, works quite well for me. It would probably work as a good starting point for you too. Still, I encourage you to experiment and develop your own editing style over time.

For one more example of how this process can yield good results, I started with the following RAW file. I shot this picture just as the sun was coming up in rural Nebraska.

RAW file straight out of my camera. 50mm, f/8, 1/180 second, ISO 100. As with the other image at the top of this article, the original is severely underexposed but contains all the data needed when editing in Lightroom.

I used the exact same process described in this article to vastly improve the picture in less than two minutes.

Two minutes later and it’s been transformed into a frame-worthy midwestern sunrise.

I hope these sunrise photo editing tips help you achieve some epic photos!

I’d love to see some of your sunrise shots and hear about the editing process you use as well. Leave your thoughts, as well as any pictures you’d like to share, in the comments below.

The post Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

Digital Photography School
October 9, 2019
Review: Sony A7R IV Mirrorless Camera
The post Review: Sony A7R IV Mirrorless Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anabel DFlux.

Having just purchased the Sony A7r III earlier this year, I didn’t expect to add another camera to my collection so quickly. Until… the Sony A7r IV announced it was on pre-order. Typically, I will not invest in yet another body unless something truly monumental comes about, and this was such a situation. The A7r IV is a piece of machinery unlike any other – and I don’t regret a single dime spent. This Sony A7r IV review will explain why.

Mirrorless versus Digital

By now, 2019, many photographers are well aware of mirrorless cameras invading the digital photography market. Just to refresh on some of the key differences in technology between DSLRs/SLRs and mirrorless cameras…

Mirrorless cameras, as the name suggests, does not utilize a mirror to reflect the image to the viewfinder. The way that a digital camera works is that a mirror inside the camera reflects the light up to the optical viewfinder. This is also how you see the image before you take it.

In a mirrorless camera, the imaging sensor is exposed to light at all times. This gives you a digital preview of your image either on the rear LCD screen or an electronic viewfinder (EVF). This allows you to see exposure changes in real-time on a mirrorless camera. The lack of a mirror also aids in the camera’s size, allowing the mirrorless model to be smaller and lighter than a traditional DSLR.

DSLR aficionados don’t trust the digital viewfinder portrayal in mirrorless cameras as this is system-based, while the DSLR uses a practical application to show a true-to-life, through-the-lens optical viewfinder system. This uses a series of mirrors to reflect light to your eye. However, as a new mirrorless user, I can testify that the electronic viewfinder display is extremely accurate to the image I create when clicking the shutter button.

In regards to quality, both can excel in optical quality, image sensors, technical aspects, and adeptness at shooting conditions. Both are equally spectacular, with each model having its own pros and cons (of course). It does come down a lot to personal choice.

Specifications

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get back to the drool-worthy A7r IV. The specifications of this newest member to the Alpha line is what made me fall out of my seat and need to order this model.

And it has not disappointed.

A true feat of modern technology, it includes the following specs:
- A whopping 61 MP, 35 mm full-frame Exmor R CMOS and enhanced processing system. This produces an image sized at 9504 x 6336. For landscape and commercial photographers, the a7r IV features a 240MP pixel-shift mode.
- ISO 100–32000 (ISO numbers up from ISO 50 to ISO 102400 can be set as expanded ISO range.)
- Fast Hybrid AF with Wide (567-points (phase-detection AF), 425-points (contrast-detection AF))/Zone/Center/Flexible Spot (S/M/L)/Expanded Flexible Spot/Tracking (Wide/Zone/Center/Flexible Spot (S/M/L)/Expanded Flexible Spot) The focus modes include AF-A (Automatic AF), AF-S (Single-shot AF), AF-C (Continuous AF), DMF (Direct Manual Focus), Manual Focus.
- Eye-start AF, Lock-on AF [Still] Human (Right/Left Eye Select)/Animal, [Movie] Human (Right/Left Eye Select), AF micro adjustment, and predictive AF control.
- High-speed continuous shooting of up to 10fps12 with AF/AE tracking.
- 5-axis image stabilization with 5.5-stop exposure advantage20.
- 4K video in full-width and crop modes.
- Dual card slots with simultaneous or consecutive recording.
- Silent Shooting Mode.
- You can operate the camera via newly supported wireless PC Remote functions via Wi-Fi.
Much like the other models in the Alpha line, this camera is an E-mount that only accepts E-mount lenses (unless you use an adapter). The awesome thing about E-mount, though, is that many brands (alongside Sony) make lenses for it, including Zeiss, Sigma, and Tamron.

Build

I did not expect a redesign of the A7r IV body. Silly me! I expected a perfect replica of the A7r III with more advanced technology. In fact, the A7r IV has improved upon its predecessor’s body and ergonomics. They have changed the design, proving that Sony listened to photographer complaints and suggestions when redesigning this camera.

Firstly, the grip is different. Sony modified the contour, and the grip has deepened – for lack of a better term. I found it to be much more comfortable, and my hand cramped less during prolonged use (photographers, you know what I’m talking about here).

The camera grip reminded me of my large DSLRs rather than a mirrorless, and I liked that a lot. While I have small, feminine hands, I am sure this new grip design will work nicely with larger hands too.

Sony has also redesigned the buttons. They’re softer and “squishier” to the touch. There is also a redesigned joystick and an amended exposure compensation dial that now includes a lock button (thankfully!).

A big change is the card slot door. The new card door no longer needs a lock lever. Just pull straight back like Canon and Nikon. This provides a much tighter seal as well. Oh, and speaking of cards…Slot 1 is now on the top, not backward like the A7r III (which constantly confused me).

The Sony A7r IV is sized at 5.07 x 3.8 x 3.05″/128.9 x 96.4 x 77.5 mm and 1.46 lb/665 g.

Ease of use

In my brain, Sony Alpha and ease-of-use are synonymous phrases. This camera is quick to set up, even simpler to use, and you can run off and play immediately when the battery is charged. The menu and settings are intended for professionals, but if you’ve been doing photography and understand how a camera works, figuring it out is quick.

I’ve heard complaints about the Sony menu, but I’ve personally not had any problems with it. I easily found everything I needed and do all of my adjustments within about 10 minutes.

This is coming from a Canon user that features an entirely different menu.

I do wish the eye-tracking mode was an actual button on the camera as you can switch between Human subject or Animal subject. It would be convenient to have this as a button rather than having to dig into the menu to change this feature. I find myself continually changing it back and forth (being both a human and a pet photographer).

Autofocus, sharpness, and clarity

Just one word: phenomenal.

I could end the review with just that one word and be satisfied. However, to go into detail…the autofocus is lightning sharp. Definitely the fastest autofocus of all of my cameras – and I have a lot of them! I find the autofocus to be even faster and more accurate than the A7r III – and that’s saying a lot, as the A7r III is very fast as well.

I’ve captured dogs running – high speed – directly at my camera without even losing focus on their eyes for a second. That is how superb the eye-tracking mode is. I see a lot of use for this camera in sports photography if you have large enough cards to accommodate the 61-megapixels, of course! You can bring the camera down to 24-megapixels if needed, but that’s no fun.

The predictive AI focus has truly revolutionized the way you can photograph subjects moving erratically or quickly, and I am living for it. This has made my job much easier with pets, or little humans that love to run away from mom!

In regards to sharpness and clarity, (while much of the final quality and look comes from the lens), in this case, the camera plays a big role. This is where the Sony mirrorless cameras begin to stand out significantly. The images are extremely sharp and clear. To some, maybe even artificially so. The look is very distinct. Professional photographers can quite easily pick out a Sony mirrorless photograph from the rest. The 61-megapixels show an immense amount of detail, excellent for commercial and detail work.

Buffering

Despite the enormous amount of megapixels, the A7R IV can still fire up to 10 frames-per-second with autofocus and autoexposure active. That’s impressive! The camera can keep at this for up to 68 compressed raw images.

Color rendering

With vivid, vibrant, and deep colors, there is little editing I need to do with this camera. Even in low light, the colors tend to be quite true. The dynamic range is superb with 15-stops of dynamic range. I have been able to pull incredible details, colors, and information from darker images.

Low light capability

The only gripe I have with this model is the low light capability is not improved over its preceding version. That doesn’t mean that the low light capability is bad – it’s just not better. For a camera that has improved in so many ways, I would have liked to see an even better low light sensor in this particular model.

However, the larger megapixel count does allow for significantly more manipulation, and it hasn’t phased me to take care of noise through a quick flick of the Noise slider in Lightroom. Ideally, it would have been nice not to need to do this.

With that said, I have not personally noticed worse noise at the same ISO levels, as some photographers have reported. The autofocus in low light is superb. It’s great for my concert photography endeavors, and even better than the firmware update on my A7r III.

Battery life

For battery life, my original frame of reference is my many Canon DSLR cameras. The 5D Mark IV, 5D Mark III, 7D Mark II, and 1Dx Mark II are the models I use. In my experience, Sony batteries are not nearly as powerful or long-lasting as Canon batteries. However, this makes sense, as the power necessary to operate a mirrorless tends to be more draining than the DSLRs due to the mirrorless cameras using a digital viewfinder and LCD display.

When I purchased my first Sony camera, I went ahead and bought a second battery. The battery is the same as the one that the Sony A7r IV uses, so now I have two additional batteries for it. I am glad that I did because the battery does not last me all day like Canon cameras. I seldom end up switching to a second Canon battery. Even after shooting a dog agility trial for eight hours without turning the body off. On the Sony, I found myself switching the battery mid-day on all-day shoots.

It is key to note I am not using a battery grip. With a battery grip, the power lasts significantly longer.

However, when comparing to Sony itself, the battery in the newer Alpha series cameras are significantly better and far more superb than previous models. The Sony NPFZ100 Z-Series Rechargeable Battery is no joke – far more powerful than the previous batteries used by the company.

Final thoughts

Do you need the power of the Sony A7r IV? Generally, probably not. For specialty work? Absolutely. The specifications are very much overkill for the average photographer, but for those that have found a use for its tremendous amount of megapixels or the ease in which the AI focuses, this is absolutely a worthy investment.

It’s likely great enough to sell prior pieces of equipment in order to buy the A7r IV.

I work a lot in commercial photography, and this camera allows me to better produce commercial imagery for my corporate clients – something I couldn’t pass up.

Would you like to own this camera? Why? Or are you lucky enough to have you tried the Sony A7r IV? What are your thoughts? Share with us in the comments!

The post Review: Sony A7R IV Mirrorless Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anabel DFlux.

Digital Photography School
October 9, 2019
DPReview TV: iPhone 11 Pro – what photographers may have missed
In this week’s episode, Chris is joined by our Science Editor Rishi Sanyal to take a closer look at some of the new photography features on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro camera. Find out how some of the headline features like Night Mode perform, and learn about less-publicized photo features like the handy ‘Capture Outside of the Frame.’ With the Pixel 4 on the horizon, it’s just the beginning of more head-to-head comparisons of these powerful little cameras.

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week.
- Introduction
- Autofocus
- Lenses
- Depth Maps
- Wide Angle Portraits
- 2X Lens Portraits
- Dual Lens Reframing
- In-Camera Editing
- HDR OLED Display
- Night Mode
- Night Mode Disadvantages
- iPhone 11 Pro vs XS
- Night Mode vs. Pixel 3 Night Sight
- Lens Limitations
- Conclusions
Sample images from this episode

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
October 9, 2019
iPhone 11 Pro sample gallery (DPReview TV)

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Have a closer look at sample images from iPhone 11 Pro’s ultra-wide, standard and telephoto cameras featured in this week’s DPReview TV episode.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 9, 2019
The Canon EOS M200 goes to Oklahoma

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Canon’s new EOS M200 is an awful lot like its predecessor, the EOS M100. That means it’s tiny, beginner-friendly and generally takes nice photographs – but a new processor speeds things up, and unlocks (heavily cropped) 4K video.

And so, since attending far-flung weddings with entry-level cameras is apparently just what I do these days, I took the M200 with me to Oklahoma City for a wedding and some sight-seeing along the way. Check out how it did in our sample gallery.

See our Canon EOS M200 sample gallery

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 9, 2019
Nokishita is reporting Nikon’s Nikkor Z 58mm F0.95 S Noct will cost $7996.95

Nokishita might be days away from closing down, but the Japanese site hasn’t stopped leaking information about upcoming camera equipment. In a recent series of tweets, Nokishita reported what it claims to be pricing information of the Nikon Nikkor Z 58mm F0.95 S Noct lens as well as the rumored ‘Z50’ mirrorless camera.

?????????????????????Z 50 ?????856.95????Z 50 ????????996.95??Z 50 ???????????1,346.95????NIKKOR Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR??296.95??? ?NIKKOR Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR? ?349.95????MB-N10??196.95??????#?

— ????????? (@nokishita_c) October 7, 2019

According to Nokishita’s latest report, which is still speculation at this point, Nikon’s Nikkor Z 58mm F0.95 S Noct lens will retail for a whopping $ 7,996.95. Nikon Rumors has been reporting this price since August 2019, so it’s not unexpected.

????????NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct??7,996.95????EN-EL25??64.95????MH-32??49.95???????????#?

— ????????? (@nokishita_c) October 7, 2019

In addition to the Nikkor Z 58mm F0.95 S Noct lens, Nokishita is also reporting what it says will be pricing info for the much-rumored Nikon ‘Z50’ mirrorless camera. According to the tweets, the Nikon Z50 mirrorless camera will retail for $ 856.95 for the body-only version, $ 996.95 for the kit lens version and $ 1,346.95 for the ‘Double Zoom Kit’ version. The kit lenses, according to the tweet, are the Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm F3.5-6.3 VR and the Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm F4.5-6.3 VR, which Nokishita claims will retail for $ 296.95 and $ 349.95, respectively.

Nokishita also reported that the EN-EL25 battery and MH-32 charger for the rumored Z50 mirrorless camera will retail for $ 64.95 and $ 49.95, respectively. Obviously, all of this information is unconfirmed for now, but Nokishita has a good record of being right about this kind of thing, and it seems likely that we’ll know for certain soon enough.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 9, 2019
Final Cut Pro X 10.4.7 arrives with major performance boosts, GPU selection and Pro Display XDR support

Apple has released Final Cut Pro X version 10.4.7, adding a new Metal-based processing engine designed to speed up various graphics tasks and improve content playback. In addition, the update boosts performance for a number of GPU models, adds support for the new 32″ Retina 6K Pro Display XDR, and more.

According to Apple, users can expect to see performance improvements across ‘a wide range of Mac systems.’ The company’s new Mac Pro in particular offers ‘unprecedented power’ when paired with the software, Apple says. Final Cut Pro X v10.4.7 brings support for up to 28 CPU cores and multiple GPUs, including ‘enhanced performance’ for the Radeon Pro Vega II Duo and Pro Vega II GPUs found on the Mac Pro.

When compared to the previous Mac Pro generation, the new Mac Pro offers up to 3.2 times faster transcoding and 2.9 times faster rendering in Final Cut Pro, plus there’s support for the Mac Pro’s Afterburner card for accelerating ProRes and ProRes RAW playback.

The 15in MacBook Pro is the most commonly used model by video editors, according to Apple. These customers can expect up to 20% faster performance. iMac Pro users, meanwhile, will see a performance boost up to 35% compared to the previous version.

In addition, the new Final Cut Pro X adds support for macOS Catalina’s Sidecar, a new feature that enables Mac users to extend their device’s display to an iPad. Other changes include the ability to choose with external or internal GPU will be used for accelerating graphics processing, the ability to grade HDR videos with ‘enhanced color mask and range isolation tools’ and support for viewing HDR videos tone-mapped to standard dynamic range displays on macOS Catalina.

Existing Final Cut Pro X users can download the new update for free. New customers can purchase the software from the App Store for $ 299.99 USD. In addition, existing Compressor and Motion customers can update to versions 4.4.5 and 5.4.4, respectively, for free; new customers will need to pay $ 49.99 each.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 9, 2019
Instagram updates iOS app with support for iOS 13’s native Dark Mode UI

Instagram is the latest app to add support for the newly introduced Dark Mode in iOS 13. The redesign features white and gray text on a black background, as well as simple black icons outlined in white. The brightest elements in the new UI are avatars and the content shared by users.

In addition to reducing eye strain, the new Dark Mode support will reduce battery drain on devices that feature OLED displays. Users are not able to manually turn this mode off or on in the app, however; it is tied to the iOS 13 settings, meaning Dark Mode must be enabled on the user’s phone. The update is rolling out on Instagram for iOS now.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 9, 2019
How Would Your Photography Change if you Couldn’t use any Auto Functions on Your Camera?

The post How Would Your Photography Change if you Couldn’t use any Auto Functions on Your Camera? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

What if your digital camera had no auto exposure ability? How would you manage? Do you think you’d adapt and learn to make good and creative exposures? I’m sure you would. And you’d enjoy your photography a lot more once you realize it’s not so difficult.

Learn to control your exposures in Manual Mode

I learned on a camera with no auto modes. It was completely mechanical. It only required a battery for the simple exposure meter. My Nikkormat FTN, however, was a film camera, so I had no monitor with which to preview or review photos. There was also no metadata recorded to help me understand the exposure choices I was making. I had to write my settings in a notebook.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

How much do you rely on any of the auto exposure modes? When you’re learning how to use your camera these modes are helpful. They allow you to capture photographs easily. Not having to think about exposure settings can free you up to pay more attention to other aspects of picture taking.

You can better achieve composition, timing, and relating to your subject when using an auto mode. But what if you didn’t have this option? Do you think you’d learn to manage to set your exposures by yourself, only with the help of a built-in light meter? I think you would.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Once you commit to understanding light and exposure, making manual adjustments is not so difficult. You can become more accurate with them over time. If you are only sometimes bold to use manual settings, you’ll take a very long time to master them, if you can at all.

To be successful at using manual exposure mode you must commit to learning how it works. You need to have an understanding of light and how your camera records different tone values. Using manual mode does require you to slow down at first. But once you’re practiced, you’ll become faster and more accurate.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Discipline is required to learn to photograph in Manual Mode

Learning any creative artform requires discipline. If you want to paint or sculpt you must spend time studying. Making ceramics or wood carving takes time and practice. When learning to play a musical instrument, you must go over and over the basics many times.

Most kids don’t like playing scales ad nauseam when learning a musical instrument. But they are foundational and so beneficial in helping a young musician grow and understand their craft. Photographers are rarely so disciplined.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Taking time to practice the essential functions of your camera will allow you to become more proficient. If you are relying on the built-in artificial intelligence, you will often struggle to reach your full creative potential.

By making a point of frequently using manual mode, you’ll be on a journey towards a deeper creative expression. But you have to be disciplined to make it most effective.

Many people who enroll in my photography workshops tell me they use their cameras in an auto mode. They admit to occasional manual use. I encourage them that unless they commit to using it, manual mode will remain difficult.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Slow down and feel the freedom

Often, photographers who prefer using an auto mode express their concern for missing the moment if they are using manual mode. I appreciate this as a genuine concern. However, you can’t always catch great photos on the spur of the moment. They take planning and patience.

Taking time to learn manual mode will also help you develop what you want to photograph. You will look at the world around you in different ways. You will begin to anticipate more when you choose to take photographs, rather than looking for snapshots.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Every genre of photography requires patience on the part of the people with the cameras. Whether your photographing landscapes, sports or birds, it’s best if you are not in a hurry. Take the time to study your subject. Know your camera well and how you can control it. Be most familiar with it, and observe and predict when the best opportunity for a photograph will happen.

Landscape photographers can wait for months for the right conditions. Sports photographers must develop lightning-fast reflexes. But these take time to perfect. They are developed with the study of the game and frequent practice photographing it.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Practice often

The more often you practice anything, the better you will become.

Many years ago, I had accreditation to photograph the world cup cricket matches played in Auckland, New Zealand. I was working for a newspaper back then. I had no experience with cricket, other than watching some matches on TV. I turned up on the morning of the first match with my camera fitted with a 2X converter and a 400mm lens.

That day, I hardly managed to capture a single frame with the ball in it. I felt disheartened. I did realize, though, that I had lots of opportunities to practice. Over the next month that the tournament played out, I improved. Each match managed a higher percentage of good photos.

I started with what was simplest – the batsman swinging at and, hopefully, striking the ball. These were not the most impressive photos to aim for, but it was a good place to start. I was envious when I saw the published pictures of more experienced photographers. They showed more dynamic action. However, as I became used to working in the environment with an 800mm focal length, I was able to capture more interesting photos.

I focussed manually, due to using the 2X converter. My exposures were also manually controlled. But this was not so challenging when the light was constant. The repetitive action allowed me to grow used to the flow of the game. I became better at predicting when the best photo opportunities were.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Explore and experiment with your photography

If you can discipline yourself to use manual mode and practice photographing the same subject material over and over, you’ll improve. Once you are more confident using manual exposure settings, you’ll become faster.

Doing the same routine many times, you’ll build up your ability to understand your camera. You can reach a level of competence where you make good exposure changes without being fully conscious of your actions.

When the light changes, you will be more aware of it. You will change your aperture or shutter speed a few clicks without having to check your exposure meter. Once you are doing this, you’ll be able to give more of your attention to other aspects of taking photos.

Difficult lighting conditions will no longer be so challenging. Many people who prefer to use auto exposure settings don’t like taking photos in the middle of the day. Especially when the sun is out. Learning to control your camera will help you see the light and make your exposures to manage well in these conditions.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

I took this photo at around 2 pm on a sunny day and tweaked it only slightly during post-processing. The basic light and dark effect was created when I took the photo. Being able to see when the light is right and control your camera gives you more freedom. You will be able to create better photographs.

Conclusion

I know there will always be photographers who prefer to stick to using auto modes. The most common argument is using exposure compensation to override the camera’s choice. I always think if you are taking this extra step, you may as well be using manual mode.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

I know from experience, learning on a camera with no auto exposure options helped me to understand more about light. It also meant I had to learn the relationships between the exposure settings. I was responsible for getting it right and making my photos look the way I wanted them to.

If you discipline yourself to use your camera in manual mode, you will have a far easier time learning than I did. With digital cameras, you have the advantage of being able to preview and review your photos in real-time. You also have tools like the histogram, highlight indicators, and spot metering. These all make it easier to capture well-exposed photos in manual mode.

The post How Would Your Photography Change if you Couldn’t use any Auto Functions on Your Camera? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Digital Photography School

October 8, 2019
Voigtlander announces upcoming release of a 50mm F2 APO-Lanthar lens for Sony E-mount

To mark the 20th anniversary of the Voigtlander Classic Line, Voigtlander has released a new 50mm F2.0 APO-Lanthar lens for Sony E-Mount camera systems.

The manual lens is constructed of 10 elements in 8 groups, including two aspherical elements and a floating focusing system. The lens features a 12-blade aperture diaphragm with a ‘special shape’ for more pleasing bokeh, a minimum focusing distance of 45cm (17.7in) and a 49mm front filter.

Despite being manual, the lens features electrical contacts for transferring EXIF data to the camera, including a distance encoder to ensure the lens works with Sony’s 5-axis image stabilization. Voigtlander has also included a de-clicking option so no noise is made when changing the aperture when shooting video. The lens measures in at 61.3mm (2.14in) long and weighs just 364g (12.84oz).

Pricing and availability information isn’t yet available. We have contacted Voigtlander for more information and will update this article if we receive a response.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 8, 2019