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Insta360 launches desktop software for One X 360-degree camera

Insta360 has officially launched Insta360 Studio for ONE X, a desktop editing application for its ONE X 360-degree camera. The software had previously been available as a beta version but is now in full production, giving One X users a new reliable editing option in addition to the Android and iOS mobile apps.

Insta360 Studio for One X version 3.2.1 has been designed for editing the One X 5.7K 360-degree footage and comes with a comprehensive editing feature set, including keyframes for creating cinematic pans, real-time FlowState Stabilization for smooth and stable footage, preset perspectives, such as Tiny Planet, Crystal Ball or Natural View, and support for the MP4 file format.

You can download the latest version of the software for Windows and Mac on the Insta360 website. More information is available on the Insta360 blog.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

February 5, 2019
How to Turn a Photography Technique into a Series
The post How to Turn a Photography Technique into a Series appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

Photography is a truly diverse art form. There are so many ways you can express yourself through a photograph. The photos you take are often a reflection of your personality, and it’s your personality which leads you towards your photographic style. There are a number of photography techniques you can learn to express this style. In this article, you’ll learn how to go beyond a few photos using a particular technique, and find out how you can turn this into a series of photos. So read on and find out how you can boost your creativity, by using one technique to create a photographic series.

Look to take as many interesting photos as you can, with your chosen photo technique.

Choose the photography technique for your series

With so many photography techniques to choose from, it can be tricky to home in on just one. Perhaps you already have some go-to techniques you regularly employ? If so, it’s a good idea to choose one of these. On the other hand, perhaps there is a new technique you’d like to try, and you have a raft of creative ideas to go with it. If you need a little help, below are some ideas that lend themselves to making a series.
- Light painting – A genre with a massive amount of potential, and creativity is almost endless. Will you try your hand at kinetic light painting? How about using a programmable LED light stick?
- Crystal ball photography – Explore the world through a glass ball, and discover that your lens is not the only optic you can use in your photography.
- Minimalism – Photography is the art of subtraction, and the appeal of minimalism is always there. Why not turn this into a series?
- Silhouettes – An easy photography technique to master is silhouettes. Get down low to the ground, and photograph against the light! You’ll need a strong compelling shape to aim at though.
- Low-key light – A series of portrait photos always looks nice, and using low-key light is a great photography technique to produce them. Why stop at portraits though? There is a whole world of still life to work with.
- Shadows – Like silhouettes, shadows can be an interesting subject matter. Look to photograph early morning, or late evening when the length of shadow is long.
- Headshots – A series of portrait photos is a great idea, and if you travel it’s a great chance to show the diversity of the world. In this case, the overall theme is the composition of a headshot, but within that, there is huge potential to be creative.
Creating a story through a sequence of photos works well. In this case, the concepts of water, earth, and fire are displayed.

Have a narrative

Having a photograph technique that is consistent throughout your series is great. However, thinking of an overall narrative to describe your work makes it that much stronger. Think about how you can describe your technique. If your technique is on light painting, you could be exploring dynamism, the future, or energy flows. The crystal ball might allow you to explore themes like dreams, the world in a globe or environmentalism. Those themes can be used to form a title for your body of work. Now you’re not just working to a photography technique, but also to a creative concept. It’s this creative concept that can push you to produce more work in the photography genre you’re exploring.

In this photo, a portrait photo has been taken, but within the ball is a landscape image.

Combine techniques

Now, of course, there is no reason you shouldn’t combine techniques. It’s a great way to expand your series of work. You can use many of the techniques listed earlier in this article in combination. In fact, there are lots of techniques not listed here that you could also incorporate, such as contrast. The crystal ball is just one example of a technique that you can combine with others. Below you can see a few ideas for how you can combine techniques with a crystal ball.
- Light painting – Light paint around the crystal ball gives it a more mystical feel.
- Headshot – Use the crystal ball as a prop for your portrait photography.
- Minimalism – Use the ball as a focal point in your image, and make the rest of the image as minimal as possible.
This photo displays both refraction photography and light painting.

Look to themes

A popular type of photography is to photograph the same scene but at different times of the year. In this way, you can use the seasons as your theme, and repeat the composition and technique you’re using. That means you’ll get four great photos, and you’ll have a mini-series within your overall set of photos. There are lots of ways you can apply this. Below are a few ideas that you may use to expand your work.
- The seasons – Look to produce images that show spring, summer, autumn, and winter. They don’t have to be taken from the same location, but repetition does create a stronger feel to the set.
- Elements – Can you use your technique to portray earth, fire, water, and air? Using these elements as a starting point can be a great creative exercise to make you think about how you’ll photograph your idea.
- The senses – Once again, another popular mini-project could be portraying touch, smell, taste, sight, and sound. Will you also look to portray the sixth sense?
This set of images uses the same technique to display the 5 senses.

Take a mixture of photos

One of the keys to producing a successful series of photos is to mix things up. If your photos all look virtually the same, you’ll eventually run out of room to create. Ahead of changing the way you apply a photography technique you should maximize a particular way of photographing. You could well return to a particular concept and composition, especially if you travel somewhere new. That said, there are some simple, and effective ways of adding variety to your work, without the need to travel.
- Composition – A change in how you compose your photo can give your photography technique a new twist.
- Portraits – Using a technique like light painting or silhouettes? Think about how you can add some portraits to the set.
- Landscapes – Are you doing low-key portraits? Is there a way to incorporate a landscape into the portrait photo? Crystal ball photography is a technique that lends itself very well to landscapes.
- Macro – Get some closeup macro photos, and change the perspective of the viewer entirely.
With crystal ball photography, adding another ball can add to the variety.

Collaborate

Finally, you could look to collaborate with other photographers who are working in a similar area to your work. This can take the form of a joint project, where at the end you pool your work together. You could do a project where you make a title for the photo, and each person goes and interprets the concept in their own way. It’s also possible that by sharing work with each other, you’ll get ideas to progress your photography technique and concept even further.

Using alternative compositions adds an extra dimension to the crystal ball photography.

Turn your photography technique into a series!

Have you turned a particular photography technique into a series? What was your experience of this, and what did you do with your series once you produced it?

Are you thinking of creating a set of images focusing in on one particular technique to do this? What technique do you plan to use for your project? Hopefully, this article helps focus your mind on some of the things you can do to create a series of images.

As always, at Digital Photography School, we’d love to hear your thoughts, and see your images in the comments section! So please share your photographic series, either old or new.

The post How to Turn a Photography Technique into a Series appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

Digital Photography School
February 5, 2019
Understanding and Unlocking the Power of the Lightoom Vignette Tool
The post Understanding and Unlocking the Power of the Lightoom Vignette Tool appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

The Lightroom vignette tool is like adding a bit of spice to your favorite meal. Without a bit (but not too much) garlic, basil, thyme, or other even salt, your food might taste bland. Add too much, and it can ruin the whole thing. In a way, the vignette effect does the same job. It adds a bit of spice, flavor, and panache, to give your photos that little extra push over the cliff. It turns them from mediocre to magnificent. If you want to unlock its full potential, it’s important to understand what it does and see how, when applied to different pictures, it can dramatically affect the final output.

You and the Lightroom Vignette effect: A match made in heaven.

About Vignettes

Vignette effects are nothing new to photography. The word itself has French origins. It refers to the wavy lines that would appear like vines (or in French, Vignes) drawn around page edges marking the beginning or end of a book chapter. Over time the word was adopted by artists and photographers to refer to the gradual fade or darkening of an image near its edges.

While vignettes can be distracting if implemented poorly, they can result in a pleasing artistic effect when applied like spices when cooking. The outcome is akin to laying a reverse darkened oval across an image so that the corners and edges of the picture are a little darker. This method also serves to draw the viewer’s attention to the center. You’re basically trying to achieve the Goldilocks balance where it’s not too much and not too little, but just right.

Understanding the Vignette Options

The first step in using Vignette is simply locating it. You’ll find it in the Effects panel on the right-hand side of the Lightroom Develop module. You’re presented with an option to choose a particular style along with five sliders that help you fine-tune the vignette to taste. All of this happens after your image cropping has been applied, so if you use a vignette and then re-crop your image the vignette changes to suit your new crop.

There are three options for the Style of vignette:
- Highlight Priority – Ensures that the bright areas of the image blend more smoothly with the darker areas. The downside here is it can make areas of the image with a lot of colors appear a little strange.
- Color Priority – The opposite of Highlight Priority, this style makes sure that color is preserved across the vignette. However, it can make the bright areas have some jarring shifts.
- Paint Overlay – This is a blunt instrument. It just darkens the image where the vignette is applied, with no attention paid to highlights or colors.
If you’re not sure which of these to use, I recommend sticking with Highlight Priority. Both that and Color Priority produce similar results which are not unlike the Burn option in Photoshop (which itself mimics the process of selectively over-exposing parts of an image when developing film in a darkroom). These two also let you use the Highlights slider at the bottom which helps you recover some of the brighter portions of the image that are darkened with a vignette, whereas Paint Overlay disables the Highlights slider entirely.

Additional options:

In addition to the style of vignette, you have additional options that allow you to precisely control how the effect is implemented.
- Amount – How much vignette is applied. Moving this to the left adds a dark vignette while sliding it to the right adds a white vignette.
- Midpoint – The degree to which the vignette reaches the middle of the image. All the way to the left results in much more of the vignette reaching the center, whereas all the way to the right keeps the vignette at the most extreme edges and corners. If you’re not sure what to do, just leave this in the middle.
- Roundness – All the way to the left makes the vignette into more of a rectangle. Leave it in the middle for an oval-shaped vignette. Slide it all the way to the right to make your vignette a circle.
- Feather – How smoothly the dark areas blend with the light areas. All the way to the left results in a harsh edge and all the way to the right gives you a nice smooth blend.
If you don’t want to over-complicate things you can leave all these sliders at their default values and you’ll be fine. However, they are fun to experiment with over time to get just the right look you are going for.

Visual explanations

This tool is easy to explore on your own but looking at how it affects a black and white grid may give you a better understanding of what is happening. I used the Paint Overlay instead of Highlight or Color Priority because in a simple black-and-white grid Paint Overlay gives the clearest visual representation of how the vignette is applied. The left side of each is the original un-edited grid while the right side is the same image with a vignette applied. The settings used for each one are described in the caption.

Amount -50, Midpoint +50, Roundness 0, Feather +50

Notice how the vignette gradually fades from dark to light, with the center portion of the image on the right being the exact same brightness as the grid on the left with no vignette applied.

Amount -50, Midpoint 0, Roundness 0, Feather +50

With the midpoint set all the way to 0, the unaffected portion of the vignette is concentrated in the middle with the edges and corners being uniformly dark. This highlights the center portion alone but there is very little fade-out between that and the vignette.

Amount -50, Midpoint 0, Roundness 0, Feather +100

The midpoint here remains the same but there is now a more gradual fade-out to the darkened portions thanks to an increase in feathering.

Amount -50, Midpoint 0, Roundness 0, Feather 0

Reducing the feathering to 0 makes the vignette clearly visible with virtually no gradation in how it is applied. I would never use this on an actual photo, but it is useful to understand how the vignette function operates.

Amount -40, Midpoint +25, Roundness +100, Feather +30

Setting the roundness to +100 gives you a vignette that is a perfect circle instead of a more oval shape. It’s important to remember that vignettes are applied after cropping, so if you start with a square image then you will have a circular vignette even with the roundness value set to its default value of +50.

Hopefully, these graphics give you a better understanding of how the vignette effect works. However, to really see it in action, it helps to look at what happens when it’s applied to actual photographs instead of just a blank grid.

Vignette examples

Almost any photo-editing app will let you apply a vignette, but with the extensive tools available in Lightroom you can customize your vignette to do precisely what you want and shape your viewers’ perception of an image in a very specific way. If you control parameters like midpoint and feathering, in addition to the amount, you can create vignettes that impart certain overtones and even emotions and transform your humble images in to works of art.

No vignette applied.

The above image looks fine on its own, and the viewer’s attention is meant to be drawn to the droplet of water right in the middle, but there are other portions of the image competing for attention. Adding a vignette completely changes the mood of the scene and makes the viewer feel like they are in a much more intimate setting. Notice how, with the darkened corners, your eye gets immediately drawn to the center and not to the edges at all.

Highlight Priority. Amount -30, Midpoint +50, Roundness +20, Feather +40

Vignettes can be used to eliminate distractions in the edges of the frame as well, and in doing so draw the viewer’s attention to the subject in the center. In this image below, there is a fence on the top-right and a black climbing rope on the top-left. They don’t really add much substance to the image and instead can take your attention away from the rabbit in the middle.

One way to solve this is by adding a vignette. Through some tweaking of the parameters, the end result is an image that still contains the fence and the rope but makes them far less prominent while focusing your attention squarely on the bunny.

Highlight Priority. Amount -42, Midpoint +50, Roundness 0, Feather +70

I do a lot of family pictures for clients in my city, and one of the final touches I’ll add to most of my pictures is a simple vignette. It’s often very subtle, usually only -10 or -15, but depending on the Style (Highlight or Color Priority), I might need to add more and then tweak it with the sliders. Below is an image with no vignette applied. While it’s fine on its own, the subjects are competing with the bright edges and corners for your attention.

A Color Priority vignette helps maintain the integrity of the colors while darkening them a little, and then I brought back some of the highlights particularly in the top-right corner by adjusting the Highlights slider to 10.

Color Priority. Amount -53, Midpoint +55, Roundness 0, Feather +45, Highlights +10.

Positive values

One thing I didn’t mention in this article is positive Amount values, which make the edges of the frame brighter instead of darker. In my years as a photographer, I can’t think of a single instance in which I have used this option, and I don’t know anyone else who uses it on a regular basis either (editor’s note: it may be used it in high-key photography). You may find instances in which you want to make the outer portions of your image brighter instead of darker and, if so, then positive Amount values would do the trick. Just know that it’s easy to overdo it and the results can sometimes come across as a little cheesy and forced.

Conclusion

These examples and explanations are designed to give you a better understanding of what the vignette effect does and how it impacts an image. I encourage you to try it out for yourself. Use the different sliders and style options and notice how they affect the vignette which, in turn, can have a profound impact on your image as a whole. Just remember the cooking analogy: you don’t want too much vignette, nor do you want too little. Strive to get it just right, and your pictures could take on a whole new life.

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.

The post Understanding and Unlocking the Power of the Lightoom Vignette Tool appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

Digital Photography School
February 5, 2019
Panasonic Lumix PRO Services support program is now accepting applications
Panasonic has launched registration for its new Lumix PRO Services, a support program for professional photographers and other imaging customers. The company is offering its service in four tiers, each with different prices, requirements and benefits. Panasonic is now offering Lumix PRO Services to customers in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Spain, France, and Germany.

For customers in the US, the highest-end ‘Platinum’ tier is offered to professionals who own at least two of the following camera bodies: G85, G9, GH4, GH5, and GH5s. As well, the customer must own at least four of the following qualifying Lumix lenses:
- 12-35mm f/2.8
- 12-35mm f/2.8 II
- 14-42mm f/3.5-56 Power Zoom
- 35-100mm f/2.8
- 35-100mm f/2.8 II
- 45-175mm f/3.5-5.6 Power Zoom
- Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 – Vario-Elmar
- Leica 12-60mm f/2.8-4 Vario-Elmarit
- Leica 12mm f/1.4 Summilux
- Leica 15mm f/1.7 Summilux
- Leica 200mm f/2.8 Elmarit
- Leica 25mm f/1.4 Summilux
- Leica 42.5mm f/1.2 Nocticron
- Leica 45mm F/2.8 Macro-Elmar
- Leica 50-200mm f/2.8-4 Vario-Elmarit
- Leica 8-18mm f/2.8-4 Vario-Elmarit
Multiple benefits are offered to US-based Lumix PRO Services ‘Platinum’ customers, including two business day turnaround, next-day free shipping, a 20% discount on out-of-warranty repairs, loaner gear for repairs that require more than two business days, a “premium welcome kit,” and an exclusive hotline.

Later in 2019, Panasonic also plans to add evaluation loaners for new products and discounts with (currently unnamed) partners. The membership is priced at $ 199 USD per year and is now accepting applications from eligible customers.

The program varies based on region. Lumix PRO Services ‘Platinum’ customers in the UK, for example, must have a minimum of three camera bodies and five lenses to register their gear. This version of the ‘Platinum’ membership is priced at ?179. Platinum customers in Spain, France and Germany are charged €199.

According to Panasonic, its Lumix PRO Services have been available in Japan since April 2017 and will arrive in Ireland and Austria in Spring 2019. Other unspecified countries will be supported later this year.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
February 5, 2019
7 Different Situations Where You Can Use Fill Flash Effectively

The post 7 Different Situations Where You Can Use Fill Flash Effectively appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Many photographers experience anxiety when they think about using flash. It’s a big unknown, difficult to control and to predict what the results might look like.

Knowing when you need to use flash to improve a photograph is just another choice you need to make. A little like deciding what lens to use to take a particular photo. Obtaining the right amount of light from your flash to compliment your picture is key to effective fill flash photography.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

In this article, I share some thoughts on when and why you might choose to add fill flash. I’ll also walk through seven situations where using fill flash helps enhance a picture.

Using fill flash – what, when and why

Fill flash is typically used to balance with the ambient light to provide the main subject with a more pleasing exposure. So you are filling in some additional light to obtain a better or more interesting exposure. Balance is key. When light from a flash overpowers the ambient light, this is not fill flash.

You can make use of fill flash not only at night or in dark locations, but also when there is plenty of light. Fill flash can be used to effectively decrease or eliminate unwanted shadows when the ambient light is very bright.

1. Fill flash and bright sun

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

The bright sun casts a hard-edged, dark shadow. When there’s no other light source or reflected light, contrast can cause problems.

Photographing people in bright sunshine they will often have dark shadows under their eyes, nose, and chin. Adding some fill can help to fill in these shadows.

Adding just the right amount of light from your flash is important so it’s balanced with the sunlight. In this photo of a mannequin I saw on the roadside one morning, I have added fill flash. I directed my flash at the smiling figure. I set the output so she was well lit, but her shadow, from the sunlight, is still clear.

2. Electric light source and fill flash

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

When you have any light source which causes your main subject to be poorly lit, adding fill flash can help.

The large magnifying glass in this photo has a light behind it to illuminate the electronic board. Had I not added any fill flash, the electronic board would be well exposed, but the white surround of the magnifying glass would be underexposed.

Fill flash can even out the light when it’s important to have everything in your photo well exposed.

3. Using ambient light as backlight

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Photographing your subject with the main light source behind it is known as backlighting. This situation again can create problems when you want evenly exposed photos.

Adding fill flash to a subject which is backlit, you can bring a balance of light and obtain an even exposure.

In this photo of the young woman drinking, I wanted to include the train in the background. The light behind her was quite strong so I balanced it by adding in a burst of flash from my right.

By controlling the flash power to output slightly less light from the ambient light, I was able to leave a soft shadow on her face. Had I not included the flash, the shadow would be too dark and not help convey that it was a hot day so well.

4. Fill flash with a bright background

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Bright backgrounds, even on cloudy days, can sometimes cause you to underexpose your subject if you’re not careful. Adding some flash helps.

The bright background behind my model in this photo was not super bright, as it was an overcast day. I wanted her to be a little brighter than the background, so I placed the flash to my left. I also had a small softbox for the flash so it was diffused to match the feeling of the ambient light.

5. Light your subject at sunset or sunrise

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

At either end of a day, when the sun is low in the sky or just below the horizon, fill flash can be helpful. Sunrise and sunset can produce beautifully colored skies, but they are often going to be brighter than your subject.

If you set your exposure for the sky, your subject will be underexposed. If you set your exposure for your subject, your sky overexposes and you lose the effect of the color in your photo.

Adding a little flash to your subject, so it’s balanced with the light in the sky, will light your subject and allow the color in the sky to be captured also.

6. Fill flash and fire

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

This example is a little different but has the same principle. In this case, part of the main subject is the light source.

I photographed this inside. The workshop was fairly dark so the flames were throwing shadows over the dark metal.

Had I not included any flash in this scene, the crucible, tongs, and surrounds would have been too dark. I wanted more detail to be visible in these areas.

7. Slow shutter and fill flash

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Any time you have movement in a scene you can use a slow shutter speed to create motion blur in your photos. Using some fill flash can add a whole other dynamic, particularly if you set camera and flash to synchronize well.

Many cameras allow you to set the synchronization to fire the flash just before the second, or rear curtain of the shutter closes. This causes a partial ‘freezing’ of the motion in a more attractive manner.

Again, balancing your flash output is important to achieve the best effect. For this technique, I generally set my flash output to be slightly brighter than the ambient light. If the output is the same or less you will not see the effect much or at all.

How to use your flash well

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

You do not need to have your flash mounted on your camera’s hot shoe pointing directly at your subject.

Diffusing your flash, or bouncing it off a reflector or other surface, will soften the light. Placing your flash off to one side, above or below, will often produce more interesting, pleasing results.

Controlling the output of your flash is always vital. Too much or too little light from your flash causes an imbalance. You need to decide how much light your photo requires and make the correct adjustments to your flash.

Through the lens (TTL) metering is often the easiest setting. You can also use the Auto mode. Sometimes, with either of these settings, you may need to dial in compensation so the light will be a little stronger or weaker.

Using the Manual setting on your flash requires a little more thought and experimentation. It can often produce a more reliable output from the flash when you are taking a series of photos. This is particularly useful when there are variables in light or camera/subject/background distances.

Conclusion

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Adding fill flash can make a positive difference to your photos in many situations. When you are not content with the ambient light alone, consider adding a little light from your flash. Even if the only flash you have is the pop up one on your camera.

You may not get the right result the first few times you try this method. Practice. Study your results. Compare photos where you did not use the flash with ones where you did. In time, you will develop a sense for when adding some fill flash will enhance your photographs.

Share some photos in the comments section below and tell us of your experience with using fill flash, whether you were successful or not.

The post 7 Different Situations Where You Can Use Fill Flash Effectively appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Digital Photography School

February 5, 2019
Flickr to begin deleting images over the 1K limit starting tomorrow for free accounts

Changes to the way photo sharing website Flickr operates mean starting tomorrow free accounts that have more than 1,000 images shared on their account are in danger of having images deleted. In November 2018 new owners SmugMug warned the days of all users being entitled to a terabyte of storage were numbered, and noted that as of February 5th 2019 free accounts will be cut down to size starting with the oldest posts.

The company says the cull should affect only a small percentage of its user-base, as 97% of its free account holders have fewer than 1000 images and videos stored. Those who have more should upgrade to a Pro account or scale their albums back. It also points out that the 1000-image limit is five times as generous as the original free account quota, which was only 200 pictures or videos.

Yahoo gets the blame for the situation, as in 2013 it raised the storage limit to attract new users which actually led to sign-ups just using the free storage but not interacting with the community, according to Flickr’s VP of Product Andrew Stadlen. He also says it costs a lot to host all that data, and that by offering it for free devalued the concept of paid online space.
If you are one of that 3% with more than 1000 images in a free account you need to take action now. Fortunately, Gizmodo has produced a handy guide to getting your pictures downloaded back to your local drives.

For more information on these changes see the Flickr blog post from November, and this one from mid-December.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

February 5, 2019
Newly shared 1900s photo shows early example of a ‘selife’

Redditor KevlarYarmulke shared an image featuring an early version of the ‘selfie’ on Reddit’s r/OldSchoolCool subreddit last week. The photograph, which is simply dated as ‘1900s,’ features what appears to be a family portrait also showing the photographer who took the picture. Including both the photographer and the subjects in the photo was made possible by the clever use of a large mirror positioned on a tree stump.

This is potentially one of the oldest known photos showing a mirror-based selfie, joining Robert Cornelius’ 1839 self-portrait believed to be the first ‘selfie’ ever taken.

A number of portraits have appeared on Reddit’s OldSchoolCool subreddit demonstrating the film camera and mirror technique. Last month, for example, a user by the name ‘WillianGBishop’ shared a 1960s image of his grandfather taking a self-portrait with a Miranda camera and a mirror. Various users have also shared a photo reportedly from the 1940s titled ‘Wartime Selfie’ that features a couple taking a self-portrait in a mirror.

Via: Fstoppers

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

February 5, 2019
Almalence compares Google’s Super Resolution Zoom to its own Super Sensor solution

Optical zoom lenses with 2x or even 3x magnification factor are one of the the latest trends on high-end smartphones. However, you don’t necessarily need a dedicated lens to achieve better zoom results than you get from a standard digital zoom.

In the world of computational photographer one solution to getting around optical zoom is to combine a multitude of frames to capture as much detail as possible and apply some clever processing algorithms. While not nearly as clear as optical zoom — yet — these methods result in final images that aren’t far off an optical system. One such example is Google’s Super Resolution Zoom on the Pixel 3 smartphone. Through this method, the Pixel 3 can produce image detail far superior to a simple digital zoom.

But Google isn’t the only company working on this. Computational imaging company Almalence also provides imaging software solutions to mobile device and camera makers with a similar solution called SuperSensor, and it’s shown off just how capable its system is.

On its blog Almalence has compared Google’s Super Resolution to its own Super Sensor technology by installing the latter on a Google Pixel 3 and capturing a couple of test scenes.

The company’s conclusion is that Google’s Super Resolution Zoom ‘reveals some details that are indistinguishable in the normal image,’ but ‘it’s still not the best of what super resolution can achieve.’

In the 100% crops above you can see Google’s system is doing a much better job at magnifying the text in the book that served as a test subject. However, at closer inspection you’ll also see that the characters in the text is better preserved in the image captured by the Almalence system, despite an overall softer appearance.

In the original article you can find another comparison scene and all samples for download at original size, so you can form your own opinions about the performance of the two systems. In any case it’s good to see how far purely software-based systems have come when compared to a simple digital zoom. Combining such systems with optical zoom lenses should open up completely now possibilities on mobile devices.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

February 5, 2019
DJI shares open letter regarding corruption allegations, asks media to ‘pay close attention to the facts’

Three weeks ago, DJI released a statement regarding its ongoing investigation into an alleged corruption scandal that could ultimately cost the Chinese drone manufacturer upwards of more than $ 150 million. Now, DJI has published an open letter on its website detailing more information and urging ‘the media to pay close attention to the facts [DJI has] presented.’

In its initial statement, DJI said that during its internal investigation regarding the alleged corruption, ‘DJI itself found some employees inflated the cost of parts and materials for certain products for personal financial gain […] DJI took swift action to address this issue, dismissed a number of employees who violated company policies, and contacted law enforcement officials.‘

Since the initial statement, DJI has published an open letter on its website that provides more details on the investigation, the events that led up to it and what it plans to do going forward.

‘As DJI embarked on a management reform effort last year, we discovered problems that had evolved during our period of high growth,‘ reads the letter. It later goes on to say ‘DJI has discovered instances of cost inefficiency, purchasing manipulations and outright theft. We cannot ignore these issues. Indeed, for the sake of the vast majority of our employees who work hard and honestly, we need to uncover and eliminate these problems.‘

Although it’s not a full-fledged apology to consumers and investors, DJI does accept blame for letting the corruption getting as bad as it did, saying ‘in the past emphasized corporate growth over new internal processes.‘

DJI says fostering better management will be the key to eliminating such corruption in the future and says ‘will now take a leading role in developing clear policies, procedures and expectations to address corner-cutting and employee theft‘ and calls upon other companies to implement similar processes.

The letter also implores the media to ‘pay close attention to the facts we have presented.’

DJI has been expected to file for IPO in 2019, so these statements and open letters appear to be a part of an intense effort to suppress the fallout from the corruption and its financial implications.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

February 4, 2019
Newborn Photography Basics and the Equipment to Use

The post Newborn Photography Basics and the Equipment to Use appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.

Many newborn photographers, especially those who specialize in purely newborn photos, have their own studio.

Parents come to them with their newborns, and their studios are fully kitted-out with lights (unless they are a natural light only photographer), backdrops and props. Some newborn photographers also travel to clients’ home and bring with them their own portable studio.

When I started photography, I did all sorts under the sun. Weddings, families, children, events, birthdays, newborns, maternity…Cake-smash is the only obvious thing I can think of that I haven’t done.

Over time, I cut down on the others and focused on weddings. Now don’t get me wrong, I still do these photography genres, but reserve them for past and annual clients and referrals.

What I’ll share with you is my way of doing newborns, my preferences and the equipment I use. There are other ways and styles, so please don’t take this as gospel and the only way to do newborns. It’s just the style that I prefer. Instead, take this as some advice (if there’s any you find helpful), and as a choice out of the many styles out there.

Before we dive in, let me first say that I didn’t go into newborn photography without reading up on it and learning about safety. Safety is critical. You can’t wing it. Instead, you have to understand risks and take necessary precautions with your equipment, process, and workflow. Baby safety is of utmost importance, over and beyond poses, props and style.

Choose a style

Your style dictates your equipment. If you want very natural looking photos, no poses, or plenty of candid captures, then you probably won’t need much equipment such as stands, backdrops, or softboxes. All you need are the basics – a camera, the correct lenses (24-70 or 50mm and a macro for close-ups like a 60mm), memory cards, batteries, reflector, speedlight (if using as a back-up).

If you like props, then it’s the opposite. You may need to use everything but your kitchen sink – baskets, bowls, wraps, flowers, textured rugs, fabrics, or toys. These are on top of all other photography equipment.

My preference is going to clients’ homes. I’ve done newborn shoots in my studio, but I prefer setting up in baby’s own home. I take my time and make sure everyone is comfortable and happy, especially the baby. Also, allowing for feeds and soothing. I know most specialist studios have the workflow scheduled to a T, taking an hour maximum and moving on to the next baby. That is fine too and makes good business sense.

1. Props

My style is simple and classic with a few props – namely blankets and wraps, sheepskin, and a basket. That’s it. I use soft fabrics to wrap the babies, so they feel secure. Sometimes I might add something extra depending on the situation, like these newborn twins, where I thought angel wings and a crown would look sweet, or a little flower hairband. Just don’t go over the top. Less is more when it comes to photographing newborns.

I also put them on a sheepskin or blanket to add texture. Usually, the sheepskin or blanket sits on top of a basket, so the babies are shaped curled up. I place the baby curled in there to represent the womb shape. The basket either sits on a beanbag on the floor or on the bed, which must be big, depending on the setup.

I like to keep props to a minimum and focus on the baby’s face, expressions, hands and feet, hair and the lighting.

2. Poses

Never force a pose on a baby. I do 2-3 poses maximum. If the baby is not comfortable with a pose or not wanting to cooperate, I drop it (the pose not the baby!) and move on to an alternative. I like the bottom up pose, fetal position with baby curled up in a basket, mother and baby/father and baby poses.

3. Lighting

There are many lighting setups. However, I take a softbox with me, speedlights, transmitters, a stand for the softbox, and a reflector. My set-up is simple. I prefer everything on the floor, so that’s where I place the beanbag. A rectangular softbox on a stand sits at a 45-degree angle to the bean bag. Opposite the softbox is a reflector. I use a speedlight in the softbox rather than a strobe for portability. Don’t forget the adaptor for the speedlight to sit on. That’s it. Simple. This way, you can shoot whether there is natural light available or not, whether there is a window in the room , or it’s pitch black!

4. Backdrop

A basic portable backdrop stand kit, with two stands and a bar across to clamp on some fabric, has served me well. Choose material that doesn’t crease! Once I used a black cotton fabric which was so wrinkled I spent ages photoshopping the creases out and painting over the fabric. Luckily it was black and was possible in Photoshop. I sometimes use the backdrop on the beanbag with the baby on top to get a seamless fading background. I prefer a darker background to light colored ones.

5. Other special items

I like to do the shoot as a story, so I always include other shots of the baby’s nursery. This story may include special newborn greetings cards, booties, or the most special toy gift for the baby. I check with the parents as to what they want capturing. These unique items are also why I prefer to shoot newborns in their homes – the shots become so personal to them and therefore more special.

6. Candids

I often end the session with natural, unposed shots of the family especially if there’s a sibling. That way, they have some memories together of their first few days as a family.

7. Editing

Unfortunately, in my experience, newborn editing takes up much time. Perhaps that’s because I like a more artsy look and there’s a lot of softening to do on the background to match the softness of the newborn skin. Not to mention cleaning up the newborn skin, which is often wrinkly and spotty with milk spots, or very red too. I aim to give the family a variety of images, so they have a good bunch of memories of those first days.

Conclusion

I hope this has given you a snippet of what newborn photography could look like for some. It’s different for others, but this is what I do. I’ve evolved from brightly lit newborn photos to moody, dark tones. Yours can be different. Just make sure it is something you love. Do share your thoughts in the comments below.

The post Newborn Photography Basics and the Equipment to Use appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.

Digital Photography School

February 4, 2019