Syed's Photo Exploration » My journey into the world of photography with the quest to document the world and my life!

A “Happy Snap” Lightroom Workflow

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 8:42am Posted in Cameras

At Halloween last year I was asked to photograph some kids I’ve shot from time to time since they were born. Basically their mum likes to have some up to date photos of the kids and Halloween seemed like as good a time as any to get some shots.

When I’m shooting like this, my aim is to get some good shots but nothing formal and I prefer not to use a flash because I get a better response from the kids without one. I captured the images in raw and I chewed through three small size camera cards in about an hour and a half.

My deal with their mum is that I get to use the photos for my work and she gets a disk of pictures. To keep this fun – so it doesn’t feel like work for me – I need a fast and effective processing workflow. I need to get the images off my camera, sorted, processed, burned to a DVD and delivered to mum in time for her to enjoy them.

Thanks to Lightroom the process was simple and, in all, I reckon I spent less than 2 hours getting the photos from the camera cards to a DVD. Here is what I call my Happy Snap Lightroom workflow – it’s what I do to quickly process casual snapshots:

Step 1 – Determine a plan of attack

To begin with I have some criteria I work by. I never give away substandard photos so anything blurry, out of focus or over exposed gets permanently deleted. Then I sort out the best of the images intending to give mum around 50-60 photos of the kids – it’s a nice range of images for her to use to scrapbook and post to Facebook and it doesn’t over burden her with too many photos to choose from.

Step 2 – Download the images

To begin, I download all the images from all three cards into a single folder on my hard drive (if there were only one card I would omit this step).

From there I import the images into Lightroom at the same time copying them to their permanent storage on my external photo drive and making a backup to a second drive. Copying rather than adding images to the Lightroom catalog lets me make backups and also add my metadata to the images so, when they popup on Facebook my copyright details are embedded in them.

Importing all the images in one step also means that when I’ve started the import process – which includes rendering standard previews – I can start working through the images and I don’t have to do it multiple times or switch out cards as I work – (the process works for me – your mileage may vary).

Step 3 – Eliminating the duds

The first time I run through the images I am looking for images to delete as well as getting a general look at what I shot.

As I work through the images I’ll press X for images to delete and use the right arrow key to move past everything else. I’ll select to delete all out of focus images, anything where someone has their eyes closed or similar, and anything I don’t want to put my name to!

Once I’m done I choose Photo > Delete Rejected Photos to delete the images from my primary external photo drive. There are still copies on the backup drive and my hard disk but not on my main photo drive.

Step 4 – Sorting the usable images

On the second run through the images I pick those I want to use. By now I have a rough idea as to what I have and what I might want to give mum. So this time I run through the images pressing P to pick an image and using the right arrow key to move past those she won’t be getting.

Step 5 – Create a Collection

Once done, I isolate the picked images by clicking the first of the filter flag icons above the filmstrip. Then with only the picks visible I press Ctrl + A to select all of them and then click New Collection > Create Collection and type a name for it. Because the images are already selected, I leave the Include Selected Photos checkbox enabled and click Create.

Step 6 – Apply initial processing to the images

Now I have a collection of the picks and it’s time to process them. I start out by selecting all the images in Grid View in the Library and from the Quick Develop panel I select Auto Tone. This gives me a head start on fixing them but, because of the lighting, pretty much all of them needed a white balance adjustment.

Step 7 – Process in the Develop module

Switching to Develop module with the filmstrip visible I selected the White Balance Selector and then made sure that Auto Dismiss was disabled. This allows me to adjust the white balance on one image and then click on the next one in the filmstrip and continue to adjust the white balance from one image to the next without having to reselect anything. Basically all that most of these images needed was some white balance adjustment.

For those that needed cropping, I cropped as I finished with white balance adjustment and then moved on to the next image. This ensured that each image was dealt with only once as I progressed across the filmstrip.

Step 8 – Make one off fixes

So, having fixed the worst of the problems I work backwards through the filmstrip to see if any of the images warrant special attention. If so, I make a call to fix them or simply remove them from the collection. To remove the image, right click it and choose Remove from Collection .

Here I had one issue with a couple of images where one child’s face was in shadow. For this, I used the Adjustment Brush tool at a small size with a large feather radius. I brushed over the areas where her face was in shadow and then adjusted the Brightness and Exposure to lighten to her face. In the same images other faces were overexposed so I added a second Adjustment Brush adjustment with the opposite settings to attempt to deal with this. The final result wouldn’t stand up to close scrutiny but is just fine for the web and 6 x 4 printing.

Step 9 – Export and burn

Once this was done it was time to export the images. Because they’re all in a collection, Ctrl + A selects all the images. I chose File > Export and then exported them as JPG images, 80 percent quality at the largest size and I added sharpening to them in the process. I made sure these images all went to a new folder so that they would be isolated from everything else and easy to find.

From there, it was a matter of launching Ashampoo Burning Studio, grabbing all the images and burning them to a DVD.

This workflow is one giant step better than simply burning the images direct to a DVD. It takes only a little more time with Lightroom to sort and apply some basic fixes to the images and it also means that only the best of the images get circulated and those that do have my copyright information embedded in them.

So now it’s over to you. What’s your “happy snap” workflow? Do you capture snapshots in raw? Do you process using Lightroom? And how do you get your images processed quickly so you’re not spending hours on images that are really just family snapshots?h3

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

A “Happy Snap” Lightroom Workflow

Tags: Post Processing

Do you have a Photoblog? [POLL]

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 9:26pm Posted in Cameras

Time for another poll (on a topic we’ve not run for a few years) – Do you have a photoblog?

We’re not talking here about a Flickr account or some other photosharing site – do you have your own blog where you share photos?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

If you do – we’d love to see a link to it in comments below – feel free to share them and tell us in a few words what type of photography we’ll see there.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Do you have a Photoblog? [POLL]

Tags: Post Processing

Give Your Viewers Some Place To Go

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 8:46am Posted in Cameras

In photos, as in life, we like to have some place to go. Not having a direction in a photo is one of the reasons for people becoming bored of viewing photos or lackluster responses on internet sites. People can’t always put their finger on why your photo leaves them uninspired, but it may be because they aren’t sure where to go and what to see.

To help alleviate this problem, give your viewers some place to go. Not in every photo, but think of it from time to time when setting up a shot. There are a few ways you can give your viewers a place to go in your photo and I’ve listed some suggestions below.

Tight Focus and Blur

The first technique deals with a change in focus. It’s how our eyes naturally see the world, in thin, two dimensional slices at a time. This is in focus and that is out of focus. The screen you are reading this is in focus and the keyboard (or floor if you are reading this on a mobile device) is not. Couple that together with two eyes to give a three dimensional aspect to what we see and we now have a useful way to navigate our living room without smashing our shins on the coffee table.

The problem in photography comes when cameras are left to their own devices and choose for us. Many cameras will increase the aperture setting (closing down the aperture) to bring more things into focus. Most cameras ‘think’ you want a lot of things in focus. Surely the camera has it figured out for you!

But the truth is, interesting photos have few things in focus (hyperfocal techniques no withstanding) at one time. And it’s important to remember this when taking a photo. Pick one thing to be your focal point and try to make it stand out from the rest of the scene. This can be done by increasing your aperture (decreasing the f/stop number) to take advantage of a shallower depth of field. It also helps to get closer to your subject to also shallow up that depth of field.

Whether we know it or not, we are used to seeing something in focus and something not in focus. Looking at your screen, do actually notice your hands on the keyboard are not in focus? Typically, no. We know our hands are there and we don’t need them in focus by our focus should be on the screen. Do the same with your photos and give your viewers a focal point while letting the rest of the scene blur out of importance.

Leading Lines

Leading Lines are just that; lines in your image that bring viewers to a particular point. I also like to include paths in this example because a path, or road, while not always perfectly straight, can lead viewers as well. Playing with Leading Lines can be a lot of fun because you get to move around. Pay attention to the lines in a photo, such as this one taken on a Washington State Ferry.

They day was gray and boring and there wasn’t much to look at. But there were lines everywhere. The railings, the horizon, the deck chairs. They all lead to the pilot house and I mostly wanted them in focus. So I took a position that would allow them to converge. I moved around the deck a bit until I had a nice and easy spot where two of the lines for the Rule Of Thirds converge.

Lines can also be curved as in this shot of a trail leading into the unknown distance.

Space

One of the more simple tricks to leading your viewers is to give them space in the photo to move into. We take our periphery for granted and that plays out in photography (as well as other forms of art) in a way most of us don’t consciously understand. What I’m talking about here is the fact that as you move your head from left to right, or up and down, your brain is scanning ahead. It is why you also don’t bump into the coffee table even though it may not be in focus. Your eyes say it and your brain understood what was coming before it was in focus.

When a photo does not allow for this scan-ahead to occur, we tend to turn our nose up at the image. Not because it is horrible, but because ‘something’ isn’t quite right and we’re not sure what. Take these two images of the setting sun for instance.

The difference between the two is the position of the boat and where it is going. We all know a boat (typically) goes forward and we know which direction this one is facing. When it is just about out of the frame, we subconsciously want to know where it’s going and are slightly irked by not knowing. Mind you, this can be a good method for grabbing attention, but for making pleasing photos while you are learning photography, give some space in front of the subject for it to ‘move’ into the frame.

Conclusion

It’s important to remember these are only rules. And rules are made to be broken. But if you are just starting out in photography, learn to use these simple techniques first to add some instant attraction to your images, then venture out and let your artistic creativity take over your style.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Give Your Viewers Some Place To Go

Tags: Post Processing

A Guide to Post Processing Your Images: Photo Nuts and Post

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:45am Posted in Cameras

I’m extremely excited today to be able to announce the launch of a much anticipated eBook – Photo Nuts and POST by Neil Creek.

In January 2010 we released the first eBook in this series – Photo Nuts and BOLTS which is all about understanding how your camera works and how to take full control of it.
In January 2011 we released Photo Nuts and SHOTS which built upon the first eBook to cover techniques and tools to use your camera to take great photos.
Today – January 2012 we release Photo Nuts and POST – which is all about what to do with your images once you’ve taken them.

While the first two Photo Nuts eBooks are all about taking the best photos possible (the only real place to start with great photos) – Photo Nuts and POST is about helping those photos to come to life.

What is it About?

This is not an eBook about making bad photos look amazing. Neil’s written two eBooks already emphasising the importance of getting the best possible photo when you take that photo. Rather this is an eBook about taking those photos and turning them into a finished, polished and appropriately prepared photo for whatever need you have (online sharing, printing or publishing).

As I wrote in the forward of this eBook:

For years my own approach was to avoid post-production; my mindset was that great photographers always got it right in camera anyway and that any processing work was somehow ‘fake’. Over time, however, I’ve come to see the benefit of some gentle processing on my images – not to hide anything but to bring them alive and to reflect the reality of the scenes and subjects that I capture.

While getting your photos right in camera is the only real place to start, this ebook is all about putting the tools and techniques in your hands to take those good images and lift them to new levels through post-production.

I was delighted to work with Neil on this ebook because his approach to post-production is similar to my own. I therefore trust that you’ll also enjoy learning about how post-production can help unleash the potential in your own images.

Who is Photo Nuts and POST for?

Those who want to process their photos and don’t know where to get started
Anyone who is skeptical about processing but is keen to explore it
Photographers who see amazing photos online and want their own photos to look like them
Anyone who struggles with an aspect of processing for eg – workflow or culling a big shoot
Anyone who has just started learning processing and wants to take it further

If you own a dSLR camera you owe it to yourself to learn about digital post processing.

FAQ

What post processing software does this eBook teach? – this eBook is written to be as software-agnostic as possible, but by necessity some of the terminology and examples may be influenced by Neil’s personal choice of Adobe’s Lightroom. Screen shots of examples are mostly from Lightroom, but he has striven to keep them relevant to other software choices.
Can I read it on my iPad – yes. This eBook is a PDF and can be read on your computer or any other PDF reading device. To read it on your iPad simply download it to your computer and then upload it to iBooks (or any other PDF reading app).
Is it Guaranteed? – yes, like all of our eBooks if you buy a copy and find it doesn’t suit your needs just contact us within 60 days of purchase for a full no questions asked refund.
Is there a hard cover version? – Unfortunately not – we only do eBooks at this point in time.
Got Questions or Needing Help? – If you have any problems with the purchase or download simply contact our friendly support staff. Please include the name of the eBook you are asking for support on as well as your PayPal email address if you have made a purchase.

Special Launch Discount: 33% Off

To celebrate the launch of Photo Nuts and POST we’re offering it for $19.99 – 33% off the normal price.

For more information on it check out the Photo Nuts and POST

Or to secure your copy directly, simply click the Download it Now button below.

You’ll be taken to a page where you can make your payment via PayPal or Credit card and get immediate access for download.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

A Guide to Post Processing Your Images: Photo Nuts and Post

Tags: Post Processing

How Post-Processing Helped Me Become a Better Photographer

Monday, January 23, 2012 at 8:49am Posted in Cameras

The following post is from author of the Photo Nuts DPS ebook series Neil Creek. The third book in the series Photo Nuts & Post – A Guide to Post-Processing will be launched here tomorrow! If you have any post-processing questions for Neil, he would be happy to answer them on Google+ or Twitter.

Post-processing your digital photos is a controversial topic for some. The idea that you change and manipulate a photo after it’s been taken is seen by some as changing reality; creating something that’s ‘fake’. I disagree strongly with that idea for many reasons, but the reason I’m going to talk about here is that post-processing made me a better photographer. Not just that I think it made my photos look better, but actually helped me to become better at taking photos.

Accelerated Learning

Getting your photos onto the computer and into an editing program gives you access to an instant feedback machine. You can learn a great deal about how to take photos by looking at those you have taken before:

Looking at each photo closely reveals problems. You may not notice some issues if you just resize and upload a photo.
Comparing the results with the settings used gives instant feedback. The EXIF data in a photo is invaluable for giving you clues about why a photo may not have worked.
Playing with photos in post is almost like touching them. Experimenting with sliders lets you ‘feel’ the potential in a photo.
The hard-to-define and harder-to-teach skill of learning to see is made so much easier by this process of shooting and feedback.

Lessons Learned

After you’ve been processing your photos for a little while, some lessons about how digital photography works – and the limitations and strengths it has – will become more apparent to you. You can then keep these in mind when shooting and change your settings or shooting technique to avoid running into any problems and make the most of the format:

You’ll get a better understanding of exposure and the capabilities of the RAW format (you ARE shooting in RAW, right?).
Learn the consequences of a poorly exposed photo, and how much latitude you actually have to correct such a photo.
Understand how much can be gained and lost at various noise settings so you know when you can push through low light and keep shooting, or when you need to consider alternative strategies.
Understand why it’s important to ‘get it right in camera’.
Conversely, understanding how much can be done in post and what’s best left to that stage.

Expands the Mind

Creating images from the shooting perspective only is a bit tunnel-visioned. Once you free yourself from the metaphorical shackles of preserving some idea of ‘reality’, then you will open your mind to the creative possibilities of processing your photos. Not only that, but you will understand that you are the one in control of how real the photo looks, or how unreal. Your confidence will grow, and that will be reflected in your future work.

Processing lets you see the hidden potential in a photo.
You will realise that most of those amazing photos you admire online started with something quite different out of camera.
You will also realise that your photos could be so much better.
You are in complete control of the final look of the photo. Whether you just tweak things to reflect your impression of being there, or you create something completely new that was never seen by the human eye, it’s completely within your control.
Your confidence will build by giving you the tools and knowledge to take your photos to the next level.

An Extra Opportunity

If you’ve been thinking that processing is an extra step you don’t have time for, you’re missing the point. It’s an extra opportunity to learn more, make better photos and become a better photographer. And to be quite honest, post-processing can be fun! Import your photo, sprinkle a bit of magic ‘post’ dust on a photo, and export something with much more life and impact.

Getting better photos is wonderful, but don’t underestimate the power that post-processing has to make you a better photographer.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

How Post-Processing Helped Me Become a Better Photographer

Tags: Post Processing

11 Ways to get Free Marketing for Your Photography

Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 8:29am Posted in Cameras

One of the challenges of charging for your photography is figuring out how to get clients. You’ve got the technical know-how, but what about the business and marketing side? Strapped for cash and looking for ways to generate buzz about your photography? No problem. Marketing doesn’t have to cost much money if you are willing to put in the time. Here are 11 proven ways to get free marketing for your photography business:

Networking

Networking is a great way to get your name out there and make connections with other businesses that can lead to partnerships and referral business. Be sure to have a plan of what you would like to accomplish (meet two new people, etc.) go prepared to chat up lots of new people and finally, have a plan for follow up. It’s those follow up get-togethers for coffee that can lead to new business.

Wisestamp

Wisestamp is a free email app that allows you to turn every email signature into a mini marketing campaign-you can add your links for Facebook, Twitter and your blog, as well as include feeds so your latest update or post is featured.

Facebook

Many photographers are successfully building their business with Facebook marketing. It only requires about 10-20 minutes per day, and you will start to see your reputation grow. Why would you want to get on Facebook when you are already blogging? Because that’s where your clients are, and it’s another opportunity to connect with them in a fun, social way.

Pinterest is basically a way for users to collect and share images of things they like or convey a concept they want to express. It’s another great way to connect with your clients and prospective clients about creative ideas for their sessions or to express your own creative vision. It’s a very diverse platform that works for photographers who tend to be visual.

Cross-Marketing

Cross-marketing is partnering up with another business in order to help each other with marketing. Perhaps you could approach a children’s clothing store about offering a photo shoot with their latest clothing collection in exchange for holding a mini marathon session at the store?

Think outside the box and figure out where your clients are. This concept can be applied to any type of photography. Not everyone you approach will be receptive, so you keep trying until you find a good match.

Blogging

A blog is a great way to communicate with your audience what you are all about and what you offer. Your blog is basically a blank canvas to express creative ideas, share bits about your personal life, educate clients, share images and showcase products. A website is like a brochure, whereas a blog is like an ongoing conversation.

SEO

Search engine optimization is not as complicated as it seems. If you have a blog, it’s easy to get started. All you do is include keywords in text, tags and images that will help customers find you. For example, you could do separate blog posts about different types of services to help people find you when they are searching for that service. To take it a step further, name images with keywords, so instead of loading up 3209KL rename to “Wake Forest Wedding” so people searching for images of weddings in Wake Forest will find you. Once you understand the basics, it becomes easy to include SEO as a part of your regular activities.

Local Listings Online

Get Listed is a free one-stop service for updating local listings online. The process can easily be completed in about ten minutes, so it is well worth the time and super simple to do.

Referral Gifts

Past clients are a great source of referrals, and what better way to encourage referrals than offering incentives? Offer a service or product that doesn’t cost too much but has a high perceived value as a referral incentive. When business owners say “my business is based on referrals from happy clients” and “the greatest compliment you can give me is a referral” they are letting their clients know what they would like them to do. You have to ask for the referral.

Contests

Contests are a great way to do build buzz and build excitement for your brand. You’ll want to put together a plan that encouraging sharing so your message can be spread to new potential customers, and therefore build your base. Be sure to follow state laws and Facebook terms whenever holding a contest on your page or blog.

Getting Published

If you want to focus on building press and prestige for your work, getting published is a great way to go. You can submit images and story ideas to trade publications in your field as well as local media outlets. Once you’ve been published, you can use that publicity as a tool to promote yourself and open doors to more work. I’ve written a free guide on getting published that you can download today.

So there you have it. Some of these techniques can be implemented in the next 30 minutes; others require a greater time commitment. Marketing takes time to nurture and grow into a reliable source of leads, so don’t expect overnight results. However, if you are planning to build a business to last, then what better time to lay the foundation for success than right now?

Lara White is a professional photographer and blogger. Her free guide explains the step-by-step process she used to get featured in over 70 magazines and blogs: Get Published: A Guide for Wedding Photographers. For a weekly dose of business and marketing advice for photographers, check out her blog at PhotoMint.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

11 Ways to get Free Marketing for Your Photography

Tags: Post Processing

Sigma 4.5mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye [REVIEW]

Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 8:09am Posted in Cameras

While full frame sensor camera have enjoyed the use of fisheye lenses for a century, the newly created APS-C sensor cameras have remained lacking. Use of traditional fisheye would work, but the entire circular area would be cropped.

Enter the Sigma 4.5mm fisheye. This lens is built for cropped sensors, giving them a full 180° field of view withing a single frame. To achieve this field of view, the front element protrudes from the front metal of the lens, giving it the typical fisheye look. There is a focus ring and a distance scale, plus a small switch for manual or automatic focus. Because of the short focus distance and the overall size of the camera, the nearest in focus object can be as close as .75”/`19mm.

With a lens like this, a whole new world of images becomes possible. Shooting objects close is an easy subject as well as circles. Shooting converging lines takes on a new dimension as well as the night sky (which is one of the original intentions behind the development of the lens; atmospheric photography). I have some sample images later in the post to give you more ideas of how this lens can be used as well as the quality of the images.

I took this lens with me and my Canon 7D on a six week trip to Asia covering photo tours in Nepal and Bhutan as well as a personal week spent in India. I want to thank BorrowLenses.com for the lend of the lens.

Features

First, some stats from Sigma’s own site.

Lens Construction 13 Elements in 9 Groups
Angle of View 180º
Number of Diaphragm Blades 6
Minimum Aperture f22
Minimum Focusing Distance 13.5 cm / 5.3 in
Filter Size (mm) Insertion-type gelatin filter into rear of the lens
Maximum Magnifications 1:6
Dimensions (Diameter x Length) 76.2 x 77.8 mm/3.0 x 3.1 in
Weight 470g / 16.6oz.

Use In Real Life

The biggest aspect of this lens to get used to is the field of view. More than once my feet were in the frame (even with fellow DPS writer Jim Goldstein warning me of this danger) and at times I could see my hand while manual focusing, or just holding the camera comfortably. There’s a mental extra to add before pressing the shutter release and that is to check the circle edge for any signs of the photographer behind the camera.

While in the field, I found the lens as comfortable as any other to hold and transport. It comes with a rear lens cap as well as a hood and lens cap for the front. Because of the bulging nature of the front lens, the lens hood (felted on the inside to create a firm attachment with the lens when in use) is needed to hold a cap. Additional filters can be used with this hood attached (72mm) if a narrowed version of the spherical world is okay. I did have an almost constant worry about scratching the front of the lens with it sticking out as far as it does (which is not much at all, but more than I am accustomed to). Therefor, the hood and lens cap remained on more than usual. A minor point.

Shooting with the lens is no different than shooting with any other lens. It opens to f/2.8 and can get seriously close to subjects. This helps as shooting with a fisheye point of view can be challenging. Getting close to the subject and helping it dominate the field of view, while still giving the viewer some place to ‘go’ in the picture, is even more exaggerated with this lens than with a standard wide angle.

Video with the lens can be interesting. Side moving objects go from small to large in the middle to small again and it can be a bit odd for some viewers. Images shot straight forward, backward or straight up give a good full view of the action. For some additional tips on shooting with this lens, I have written a post on Photo Tuts+ (and I’m sorry most of it is a Premium article, that wasn’t my choice) that describes 14 different scenarios when this lens would be useful.

You may be asking what that blue ring is around some of the images. It is flare caused by the extreme angle of the lens. It is normal and can be easily remedied which a circular crop.

Samples

Click on any sample to see a full sized view.

Conclusion

The Simga 4.5mm Fisheye is a treat to use and produces some stunning images. While use of standard front mounted filters limits the overall coverage, the fact that the field of view is so large negates the effectiveness of most options (NOTE: Filters can be used in the rear area of the lens but this was not tested). This produces a freeing effect as the filter needs to be used, mostly, as is, greatly simplifying image captures and focusing the photographer on creative use.

The lens does take some learning before stunning images emerge, but that curve isn’t long. It’s important to give yourself some latitude when starting out with this lens as experimentation is key to finding out what works for you.

Get a price on the Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye Lens< ?h3>
Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Cameras

Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye Lens for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras

Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye Lens for Sigma Digital SLR Cameras

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Sigma 4.5mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye [REVIEW]

Tags: Post Processing

How to Create Hand Drawn Frames in Photoshop

Friday, January 20, 2012 at 8:20am Posted in Cameras

One technique I’ve seen used a lot lately on blogs, websites and even email newsletters is a hand drawn frame effect.

In this post, I’ll show you how to create an effect like this and save and use it for your images.

Step 1

Start with a new image in Photoshop. A good size frame is important to create as you can size it down but not size it up as successfully. Start with an image around 4,000 pixels square with a resolution of 300 pixels RGB color and transparent background.

When the image opens, fill the background with a color of your choice, I’ve chosen a blue fill color.

Step 2

Add a new layer and then select the brush tool and a smallish brush. You want something that is going to ‘paint’ looking a little bit like pencil marks so I chose the Chalk 11 pixels brush and sized it up to around 57 pixels.

Select black or a dark brown or dark gray color as the foreground color and hand draw your frame. It will help if you use a tablet to do this although that’s not necessary and a mouse can be used.

Draw the frame so it has closed inside and outside edges to make the next step easier.

Step 3

Target the Magic Wand tool and click inside the frame. This selects the inner portion of the frame.

Choose Select > Inverse to invert the selection.

Now hold the Alt key and click with the Magic Wand tool on the outer area of the image so you remove the outer edge from the selection.

To eliminate any anti-aliased edges, choose Select > Modify > Contract and contract the selection by around 12 pixels.

Step 4

Add a new layer between the frame drawing and the background and fill it with white.

Return to the frame layer and select the inside again, this time choose Select > Modify > Expand and expand the selection by around 12 pixels.

Add a new layer and fill the selected area with a black/brown or dark color. This is the template for your image.

Save this image as a layered .psd file so you can use it anytime in future.

Step 5

To frame an image, open an image to frame and this frame too.

Drag the background layer of the image into your frame image holding the Shift key as you do so to center it. Press Ctrl T + Ctrl 0 to size the image to size. Make sure the image layer is directly under the drawn frame and above the dark template layer.

Now, with the image layer selected choose Layer > Create Clipping Mask to clip the image to the size of the inside of the frame.

You can move the image layer using the Move tool so it is positioned as desired.

Now size and save the image for print or the web.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

How to Create Hand Drawn Frames in Photoshop

Tags: Post Processing

Zen and the Art of Photography

Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 8:07am Posted in Cameras

When you get really into photography, when you’ve mastered your camera and are focusing completely on the creative aspect, there’s a real beauty that comes to play. Being completely absorbed in your activity and thinking of nothing else. In a way, photography is a way of meditation. A way of zen. Your focus is completely on the image and nothing else seems to matter.

Meditation, the practice of self-realization and consciousness, can be related to photography in many ways and, in my opinion, help strengthen your skills as a photographer.
When one meditates they start by focusing on one specific thing, be it ones breathing or an image. This trains the person to clear their mind and have deep, concentrated focus. The same can be applied to photography and used to develop ones senses, particularly ones vision.

When most people look around the world they see things but don’t really “See”. Their mind quickly labels objects, categorizes things, and fails to see the beauty built into everything. ?

Practice Seeing Everything

While I won’t recommend sitting in the lotus position, I do recommend spending five to ten minutes before every shoot meditating. Spend this time observing your location.

Do not think of anything

Simply observe. Notice the light and how it hits certain objects and is blocked, causing shadows in others. Notice the quality and color of the light. Notice the shapes and lines of the objects and the natural, built in composition of the area. ??Use your other senses as well. Notice the aroma in the air. Feel the wind and listen to the ambient sounds. Become completely absorbed into the location that you are at. Be there and actually be there, not somewhere else in your mind thinking about something very insignificant. ??When you begin a photo shoot this way you come to understand your location much better. People photographers understand the importance of knowing their subjects personalities before shooting. The same holds true for nature photographers, architecture photographers, etc.

When Framing Your Shot…

Never simply point and shoot your camera. Many photographers think they have the right shot and simply shoot, spending at most a few seconds looking through the viewfinder. This is the most important step in photography and should take up much more time. Look through the viewfinder and really “See” everything within the frame. Often times you’ll come up with even better ideas simply by holding off that urge to press the shutter down.

“Observing” On a Daily Basis

While the deep, zen-like observing is great when on a photo shoot, it’s something that should be done on a daily basis. When walking through a park, passing by a dark alley, or going anywhere you’re going to pass beauty (it’s hard not to). Instead of thinking what you have to do, where you have to go, or who you have to talk to, just observe. I do have to warn you though, you may feel the sudden urge to have your camera with you at all times if you start doing this often.
When you truly open your eyes, everything becomes “photogenic”.

Al Sanchez is the creator of PhotoTechniques.info, a site with digital photography tips.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Zen and the Art of Photography

Tags: Post Processing

Black and White Film Is Not Dead!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 9:14pm Posted in Cameras

To be honest, I don’t download a lot of presets from the internet. I personally have limited mental bandwidth for add-ons, and there are so many out there that they can be hard to sift through. However, I agree that done right, they can add great value. It can be very efficient to use a good creative preset or set of presets, since I can get 90% of the way towards making a photo look great with just one or a handful of clicks in one panel rather than having to sift through all of Lightroom’s Develop sliders, plus I can get cool looks that I never would have thought of creating myself.

Occasionally I hear about some presets that I just have to check out, including X-Equals XeL Black and White Toolkit of over 300 presets. They are designed to emulate the look of 54 classic black and white films, as well as 4 antiquated processes, and the workflow ingeniously follows the traditional black and white darkroom workflow (as I understand it — truth be told, I only had a couple months of film/darkroom experience):

1. Simulate black and white capture:

Choose your film type from 54 choices (with a set of presets for each, covering black and white mix, tone and grain)
Choose your color filter or color mix

2. Simulate darkroom work:

Choose your paper contrast grade
Adjust your contrast (with “curve kicks”)
Dodge and burn (with graduated filters)
Solarize / special effects
Toning (Sepia, Selenium, and 5 more)

The toolkit also has a cool set of presets to reproduce four antiquated processes ( Tintypes, Daguerrotypes, Cyanotypes and Ambrotypes).

For people with extensive film experience, these presets allow you to replicate films and processes that you know and love. For people like me with little or no film experience, it allows us to achieve looks that we wouldn’t have known to create otherwise. And for everyone, it can help you to get much closer to a great black and white with just a handful of clicks using just the Presets panel. Here are some samples, where I just applied Xel presets, without further fine-tuning:

When I first downloaded this set of over 300 presets and started playing without reading the directions, they overwhelmed me quickly. However, once I read the directions and realized that the idea is to use groups of presets, and that they are ordered into a carefully thought-out workflow, I was able to work much more effectively, and really enjoy the creative process. Nevertheless, there are a lot of choices, and particularly for those of us without film experience, it can take time to experiment and learn what film types and other choices we like. To me this process of learning what I like is great for late-night creative exploration, and I enjoy it.

As with any presets, I think you should fine-tune to taste. They are a great starting point, and may be true to the film type used, but some photos will simply look better with some fine-tuning (this is not a flaw of the presets). For example, in the Ilford Pan 50 example above, my next steps would be to use the B&W panel to further darken the sky, and back off a bit on Clarity. This is where presets can get you started, but are not a substitute for understanding the rest of the Develop module!

In the end, I really like this set of presets and am happy to recommend it, because

It exposes me to many more creative possibilities for my black and whites. I particularly like the antiquated processes and more grainy films, as they really push the envelope for me.
The workflow is very well thought out.
The presets clearly have been tested on a wide variety of images, and were built on measured film responses.
They have been carefully designed to only affect what they need to affect — so they don’t wipe out adjustments you have already made unless they really need to in order to achieve the look.
It is a great value, at only $19.99 (current website price – may change)

There was only one small thing that I wish could be different: it takes clicking on three presets to get the look of a particular film. I like that this allows me to choose black and white mix, tone and grain separately. However, since it isn’t a single preset, you can’t preview the entire look in the Navigator panel by hovering over the preset. You have to click on each of the three, and then undo with Ctl/Cmd-Z three times to undo or go back in History to try something else. I have to say though that I agree with their decision to separate out the components to provide more flexibility, and to sacrifice the Navigator preview convenience. Truth be told, you can’t preview something as subtle as grain in the small Navigator window anyway.

According to Brandon Oeling at X-equals, they are currently testing the presets with the Lightroom 4 Beta — chances are, with the new Basic panel adjustments and Process Version, the presets will need to be updated. X-equals doesn’t guarantee them with the Beta, but true to their general policy, they will provide a free update upon the official release of Lightroom 4. So if you want to explore the possibilities of emulating black and white films, and do it within a powerful system of presets, I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase these now for use with Lightroom 3.

After experimenting with this set of black and white presets, I am really looking forward to trying their color film presets (Cold Storage Volume 1 and 2) as well!

Visit X-Equals.

Tags: Post Processing

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