Travel photography Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Infrared Conversions, IR Modifications & Photography Tutorials

5 Tips To Help You Capture Great Travel Photos Every Time

Travel photography is like any other hobby or profession in that the more you do it, the better you will become. You will learn from every mistake. You will celebrate every success and over time you will find your successes become more and more often. It’s an incredible skill to possess and with time and practice, you too can capture great photos. Whilst there is no magic formula in capturing great travel photos, you can enhance your chances by using a few tried and tested techniques. So follow these 5 tips to help you capture great travel photos every time.

Pause for a second

It’s amazing how often I see people walk up to a scene or interesting subject and start snapping away quickly. Of course, sometimes that is what is needed as it may be a fleeting moment. But often you can take your time to really think about the composition. When I run photo tours I often run a small exercise where I get my students to count to 10 before they take a photo at any scene. I asked them in that time to try and pre-visualise their shot before actually taking the picture.

But not only pre-visualise the shot but also look around the main subject to try and identify if there is anything they should crop out. It’s easy to get lost in the moment when taking a photo only to get home and realize that for example there is a lamp post directly behind your subject. If you can pause for a few seconds before taking the photo you will often find that your final result will be better.

Tweak your settings

Have you ever suddenly saw a great photogenic movement if front of you, took the photo only to find that it was blurred? It’s happened to every photographer, even the pros. Whilst you can’t always guarantee that you’ll be able to capture these moments perfectly, you can enhance your chances. The best way to ensure that you are always ready is to tweak your settings constantly for the changing light and environment. For example, if you turn into a shaded street after being in bright sunshine, you will clearly need to adjust your settings.

In this situation, you may need to raise your ISO slightly to combat the low light conditions. Or you might want to increase or decrease your aperture to vary your depth of field. The closer you are able to set your camera to what you are going to need, the better your chances are of capturing those fleeting moments on the fly.

Learn to wait

Patience is one of the key attributes for any travel photography. It’s very rare to get somewhere and have everything in place for a perfect photo. Often you have to be willing to wait for the right moment. That could be a few minutes so that the car that has stopped in front of you moves. Or it might be hours so that the storm clouds disperse and give you the light that you need. Obviously how long you are willing to wait will depend on you and your situation. But sometimes even a few minutes can make a difference.

You can also use a technique whereby you find a scene where you compose your shot. You make sure that your camera settings are set and you wait for the missing element. For example that could be a street scene where you want to have a person walking in the road. Compose the image and then just wait. It incredible how often doing this pays off.

Only use what you need

Throughout my travels, over the years I have come across lots of other photographers. Every now and again I come across someone who is using a piece of accessory unnecessarily. All this does is have a detrimental effect on the quality of the photo. For example recently in London, I came across an amateur photographer who was using a graduated neutral density filter when photographing in a covered market. In a place where it was already low in light, this photographer was making it even harder to capture images. After a few minutes of watching, I asked why she was using a graduated ND filter as I was curious to know.

Her response was that she didn’t actually know what the filter was for and thought it would help “take good pictures”. Now, this might seem like a silly mistake to make, but over the years I have encountered so many situations like this. After a very quick explanation of what a graduated ND filter was and should be used for, she removed it from her camera. So unless you are sure that you need a piece equipment or accessory don’t use it. When you do use one, know how and what for.

Shoot in burst mode

Burst mode in modern DSLRs is a great function to use and not just for a fast moving subject. Even taking portraits in burst mode can be really useful as you can ensure that you can capture the person with a nice expression on their face and their eyes open. But it can also help you if you struggle with holding the camera steady. You will generally find that if you shoot say five photos in burst mode, photos two, three and four will be the ones you were steadiest at. But obviously shooting in burst mode (or high-speed burst mode in some modern DSLRs) will mean a lot more storage is needed. It wouldn’t be a surprise if you filled up a 16GB memory card in one day! As you become more experienced then you won’t need to use it as often. But when starting out it’s a good way to ensure your photos are sharp and you capture the right moment.

These quick and easy tips are just some of the ways that you can ensure you capture great travel photos every time. The reality of travel photography is that the more you do it, the better you will become. In time these tips will become second nature and you will subconsciously do them. Or you might even have your own set of processing and tips that you will adopt. But for now, use the tips above and see if you notice an improvement in your travel photos.

Bare Bones Photography: What Gear Do You Really Need?

What is the end game of photography? To make a photo, right? Not always a print but nonetheless an image of some kind is the final goal of most photographers. The tools needed to complete what can sometimes be a world altering task are simple. At their minimum, you’ll require some type of otherwise light-proof box which has a relatively small opening-i.e. a camera, and some way of recording the incident light which enters-i.e. film or digital sensor. You don’t even truly need a lens(pinhole cameras) to make a photograph but of course that helps immensely.

Now, that list of gear might sound incredibly lacking but when you think about it everything else that we throw into the mix simply expounds on or enhances those basic pieces. There are multitudes of cameras, both film and digital, with equally vast selections of lens and filters for each. Everything else aside, this article will help you if you’re just starting out on your photographic journey in that you will learn what basic photo gear you will actually need…not just what someone might want to sell you.

What You’ll Need

Below is a list of the bare-bones gear that you will need to get rolling in making photographs. Of course there are not real absolutes as you will soon find out but in order to reach the end result, a picture, you will need these few things:

The Most Important Item

The single most important tool you can possess isn’t actually a piece of gear at all but rather the correct mindset. I’m listing this first because everything else is secondary to your ability and to adapt and make the most of whatever camera or lens you have available. When I first started out in photography, eighteen year old me saved $265 and bought a 35mm SLR kit that included one 18-55mm F3.5-5.6. I shot on that one lens for about five years and managed to make some wonderful photographs despite it being a “kit” setup. After I switched to digital photography(I still shoot film as well) the progression evolved much the same way with me beginning with a kit lens and later branching out as I learned more about the craft.

Don’t think that you need incredibly expensive cameras or lenses to get started doing photowork. Granted, there are some things that even the most determined effort can’t make happen without the necessary equipment but you might be surprised how much you can get out of “low end” gear when you approach the problem with creative solutions.

A Camera

The importance of a camera can’t be overstated but that doesn’t mean that it has to be the latest and greatest piece of tech to roll off the line. In fact, if I could back in time I would have spent much less on my first digital camera and much more on the lens. More on lenses in a minute but ironically the camera you use usually plays much less of a role in the final image quality(sharpness/color/contrast) than you might think.

Whether it be film or digital, find a camera that is well built and feels good to you. If you can’t readily handle the camera before you buy then become a review hound and learn everything you can about other users experiences. Luckily, most digital cameras today are so good in terms of ISO performance and build that you won’t really go wrong in most cases. Again, if I can offer a little advice in hindsight, invest more in your glass instead of your camera.

A Lens

The lens is the eye through which your camera sees and there are apparently hundreds of different eyes out there. Like I mentioned earlier, the quality of your lens is a huge factor in the final quality of your photos. If you put a poorly made, blurry and sluggish lens on the most expensive camera in the world you will still get poorly made, blurry and sluggish photos in turn

In short, if you aren’t sure yet which genre of photography you’ll gravitate towards, what’s called a “normal” focal length lens will be the best bang for your buck. The term “normal” refers to a lens approximately equal to the field of view of the human eye which is arguable in the 30-50mm range. Most kit lenses included with cameras hover in the normal range. In any case, find the fastest lens(small F-number/large aperture) that will fit the most situations be it landscape, portraiture or street photography. Fortunately, a fast 50mm lens remains of the cheapest lenses you can currently buy.

Finishing Up

Yes, that really is all you need. While there are a few accessories like film or memory cards that you’ll require the overall basic gear to start making images really is as simply as that.

As you progress you will learn what makes you tick photographically and you can adjust your tools accordingly. Find a camera, find a lens, and start shooting.

The Case for Black and White Photography

Brace yourself because here it comes…it’s another discussion about black and white photography. Don’t worry, it’s not going to be the same old “which is better?” or even worse, another “how to convert your photos to black and white” type of articles. Admittedly, I have written on both of those subjects extensively before but this time will be a little different.

Today, we’re going to strip down the idea of black and white photography and attempt to locate how this tried and true area of photography has managed to maintain its status in an arguably over saturated(pun intended) world of photographic modernism.

Monochrome and the Film Difference

It’s not secret that the black and white side of photo work is deeply rooted in film. Still, even though it makes for a solid title for this section, the term “monochrome” has been somehow mismanaged to the point where it is widely considered synonymous with black and white. This is wrong. Monochrome means “one color” or essentially an image made of shades of only one color. This color could be anything from black, yellow, red or pink. Grayscale might actually be a more appropriate term for true black and white. Even then the lines become somewhat blurred because it’s incredibly difficult to completely abolish all color toning from a black and white film negative. Take a look at these images of a 4×5 black and white negative(complete with film borders)and I’ll show you what I mean.

The first photo is a color rendition of the negative. You’ll notice that is is toned quite blue based on the development. This is due to a few factors but the point is virtually all black and white photographs aren’t exactly black and white. Rather, they are toned based on the type of film emulsion and the development techniques used. Now, look at that same piece of film after I have digitally converted it to black and white in Lightroom.

See the difference? I say all of that to say this: modern digital photography often paints a one dimensional representation of black and white images. True black and white photographs aren’t usually black and white at all or not even monochromatic. Instead, they are a carefully mapped presentation of tonal ranges. Remember this the next time you click a button to make your photo black and white. Sure, it might remove the color but the work shouldn’t stop there.

Speaking of color…

Is Color Necessary?

Yes, color is needed. Is it always needed? Absolutely not. There are times when a photo is suited to black and white and times when it is not. Well, who decides? That question is also deceptively simple to answer. It’s you, you’re the one who decides. Does the color play a role in the emotion or feeling you mean to convey or does it get in the way? These are most certainly murky waters to wade.

Today, we don’t even have to approach color or black and white photography the same way as we did thirty or even twenty years ago. Take the very site you’re reading this article on right now. LifePixel specializes in infrared converted cameras that brings the world of color into a new realm of creative exchange. Infrared cameras see light differently than our own eyes. As a result, completely familiar colors become foreign and black and white pictures take on a completely new feel. When you think about color and how it relates to photography you must understand that even the things we see are wholly subjective to our own perception.

Some Closing Thoughts…

If you haven’t been able to tell by now the purpose of this article isn’t to promote the merits of one type of photo over another. There’s plenty of room even now for both color and black and white photography. In fact, a lot of it comes down to personal taste and how we perceive the world around us. At the same time, remember to look deeper into your work and find what gives it meaning to you. Does color play a part? Does it make more of a connection in black and white? Whatever direction you choose just make sure that the original intent of the photo shines through.

6 Tips To Help You Capture Great Food Photos On Your Travels

Food and travel often go together. After all, food is one of the key elements of a destination and can really make us fall in love with a place. The great thing about photographing food for travel photographers is that it provides a great opportunity to capture unique photos without taking up too much of their time. But capturing food out of a studio can sometimes be a challenge. Follow these 6 tips to help you capture great food photos on your travels.

Pause for a minute

The first mistake that amateur photographers often make when photographing food, is that they rush to capture the image. The trick to good food photos is a careful setup and composition. If you know what you are photographing, then start to have a think about your composition before the dish even arrives at your table. Are you going to capture the whole plate? Or are going to zoom in to just a small part of it? Will you photograph it at eye level or from a slightly elevated position? All these decisions will have an impact on the final look of the photo.

This means that by the time your dish has arrived on the table you will have a rough idea of how you will frame your shot. But rather than snapping away, just pause for a minute and really look at the dish and evaluate if what you had envisioned would work. If the answer is yes, then start photographing it. If not re-evaluate and re-frame your shot.

Is there enough light?

Often the biggest challenge when photographing food is the available light. This is especially problematic in restaurants where there is usually low light. The best way to get around this issue is to either sit near a window or sit outside where natural daylight can provide the light needed to capture the photo.

If that isn’t possible then it usually means you will have to raise your ISO enough to allow you to capture the photo at a fast-enough shutter speed to avoid camera shake. But raising your ISO will mean additional noise in the image and if there is too much the image will look to grainy and not sharp.

The only other option is to use a tripod. Clearly sometimes this won’t be possible in busy restaurants so you may want to invest in a small desk tripod (like a Gorillapod) that you can set up on the table. This will allow you to be able to capture photos at low ISO and slow shutter speeds. Just make sure that the tripod you are buying can take the weight of the camera that you are using.

Avoid the flash

Every single person at some point in their life has probably taken a photo of a dish in front of them using a flash. You know what happens next. When you look at the photo afterwards, it looks washed out and not very appealing. The problem with using a flash directly onto a food dish is that not only does it wash out the dish in front of you, but it also disturbs the natural ambient of the location you are in.

The best light for photographing food outside of a studio is to use natural daylight. If it happens to be an overcast day, then that is even better. On an overcast or cloudy day, you get a soft even light across the plate which means minimal shadows and highlights which give a pleasing result by making the ingredients in dish pop out. Even on sunny days you would be better off finding somewhere with cover to take the photo rather than photographing in sunlight.

If you find yourself with no other option but to use the flash on your camera, don’t point it directly at the dish. Instead try to bounce off a surface such a wall or ceiling.

Think of the whole picture

It’s always worth remembering that when photographing food, the actual dish needs to be the hero of the shot. So always try to keep the composition simple. This means paying attention to things like the background and even the surface that the dish is sitting on. But sometimes you’ll have elements on the table or in the background that can be incorporated into the shot to provide a good secondary point of focus. For example, is there an interesting table cloth on table? Or can you add a glass of wine to the frame to give it more context? Even sometimes a knife and fork when positioned well on a plate can really enhance the photo.

The key is to ensure that you have thought about it and it has been incorporated carefully and on purpose.

What settings?

There are no hard and fast rules for what settings you use when capturing food photos. As every situation is different by offering its own challenges and opportunities, you need to be able to adapt your settings for each scenario accordingly.

Usually your first consideration will be the available light and how that impacts your shutter speed. This is so you can be sure that you use a shutter speed that will be fast enough to avoid camera shake (blurred photos). How slow you can go with your shutter speed depends on how steady you can hold the camera. This is something you should test at home so that you know for future reference.

Basically, the more light that is available to more options you will have with things like depth of field and ISO settings needed. As a starting point, aim for a shutter speed of around 1/100 sec with a pretty shallow depth of field (i.e. f-5.6) and go from there.

Work quickly

Whilst it’s always good to pause for a minute before your start, keep in mind that food can quickly deteriorate. Imagine a bowl of ice cream on hot day outside. Before long it will start to melt and once that happens it will stop being as photogenic as when it first arrived at the table. So, once your plate has arrived and you have taken a quick pause to evaluate, make sure you work quickly.

Food photographs should be a must on any travel photographer’s shot list of a destination. It is such a huge part of our experience of a location and if done well can have wonderful results. Not only will it give you a good variety in your portfolio, but it will also often add to the story of that location.

How to Use the Clarity Slider in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC

If you reach way back to Adobe’s Lightroom 1.1 build you will find the clarity slider. After its introduction wayyyy back then the clarity slider has been a favorite weapon of most landscape and even portrait photographers. This slider is a personal favorite of mine just as it is the professed secret love of many Lightroom users. It adds a little “punch” to your photographs and can work wonders with portraits, landscapes, and virtually any other image that appears to be a little visually flat. And now in Lightroom Classic CC, the clarity slider is still going strong.

But what does the clarity slider do specifically? In this article we’re going to talk about how the clarity slider works and how you can use it more effectively to bring out the full potential of your images.

How Does the Clarity Slider Work?

When we adjust clarity, we are essentially adjusting the contrast of our photo.The difference is that instead of the entire tonal range being adjusted, the clarity slider targets the midtones only. This give the overall illusion of the image become more clear. Look at this histogram of the image above before the clarity was increased by+60…

Now, look at that same histogram after the boost in clarity

The blacks and highlights haven’t been affected very much but the midtones certainly have. And that’s the great thing about the clarity slider: it is far less likely to wash out detail in the areas which are already bright or already dark. This makes it a great tool when working with textures(insert link to texture article) with scenes which need a good bit more contrast without going into overkill in the shadows and highlights. Speaking of overkill…or rather over’clear’(haha)…the next section will talk about some things to watch out for when using the clarity slider.

How NOT to Apply Clarity

Granted, every photo is going to be different, so there are no real “rules” when it comes to using the clarity slider(or anything else in photography) to adjust your images. That being said, a general guideline that will help you immensely is the good ol’ fashioned “less is more” approach. While there clarity slider works great to add some extra power in your photograph it can also cause some unsightly side effects if abused.

Here’s a photo where the clarity has been cranked to +100. Notice anything?

On top of the entire scene now looking a little unnatural, when we zoom in we can see the real problem with using the clarity slider too liberally.

Zoomed to 3:1

Those dreaded halos. I hate them, and honestly, you probably should as well. They are caused by the pixels around high contrast areas becoming too separated from the pixels surrounding them which adds up to the bright banding around those areas. To remedy this, try adjusting clarity locally using the radial or graduated filter or the adjustment brush. If all else falls, simply back off the clarity a bit. In almost all cases less contrast will be more preferable than that dastardly halo effect.While Adobe has drastically refined the performance of the clarity slider in recent years the over clearing a photo can still be problematic. Also note the halo effect is worsened when coupling too much clarity along with too much sharpening as happened with the image above..

Final thoughts on Clarity

The clarity slider is a great tool. It helps us to increase contrast in the midtone luminosity range while avoiding blown out highlights and burnt out shadows. I use it to some extent in virtually every photograph I process. That being said, as awesome as the clarity slider can be, it can also work against you if you push it too far. Always remember to keep things in the scope of the reality you wish to present to the viewer and don’t over clarify your images. On the flip side of that you should also not be afraid to actually lessen the clarity in some of your images. It can actually smooth out skin tones and impart a nice soft contrast to a landscape. With a little bit of knowledge the clarity slider can open up entirely new post processing opportunities that you might not have considered!

How to Add Instant Contrast in Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a beautiful thing. It allows an incredibly wide range of artists, designers, creatives, and especially us photographers to inject a little bit of creative juice into their work and see it come to life. And while Photoshop can be enormously complex there are so many simple, straightforward edits you can use to instantly transform your photographs.

One of these goes back to the basics of photo editing: exposure and contrast. There is a great way to quickly add contrast to your images by using PS blend modes, more specifically the “soft light” blend mode. You may be thinking “But why not just add contrast with the contrast adjustment?” Well, you can for sure…but it’s not exactly the same. And why not expand your photographic editing horizons to try something new?

Soft Light Blend Mode

The soft light blend mode is one of seven PS blends that make up the “contrast” group. These modes all use varying mathematical wizardry to accomplish a similar effect which is to make darks darker and lights lighter in relation to one another. While that is an incredible over-simplification it’s not entirely inaccurate.

The soft light blend mode bases itself on whether pixels are lighter or darker than 50% gray. If a pixel in your image is darker than 50% gray it will be darkened further. If a pixel is whiter than 50% gray it will be lightened. The result? More contrast. Not only that, but this contrast is wholly dependent on image and it’s tonal makeup.

Adding Contrast with Soft Light Blend Mode

First, duplicate your base photo layer by using the keyboard shortcut ‘Ctrl+J’(Cmd+J for Mac).

Next, select the soft light blend mode from the blend mode drop down list. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut ‘Ctrl+F’ to do the same thing a little faster. You will instantly notice a fairly drastic change to your photo. Namely the increased amount of contrast.

To really control the amount of contrast I highly recommend adjusting your layer opacity until you reach the overall level of contrast for your particular image. In the case of soft light the opacity and fill accomplish the same outcome so it is your choice which to use.

The real fun begins when you decide to add a layer mask. Don’t worry! Masks aren’t something to be afraid of(in most cases) and they allow you to completely take charge of how an edit is applied in PS. You’re about to see how easy it is right now.

Adding a Layer Mask

To add a layer mask to your soft light blend layer simply click on the “add a mask” icon at the bottom of the layer panel.

Guess what? You’ve just added a layer mask! It’s that simple. Now, you’re free to paint in or out the soft light contrast to virtually any degree and location you choose. Just adjust the size and opacity of your brush to achieve the desired effect.

Add in some a quick increase in exposure and we’re left with the finished product. All done within a matter of minutes.

Some Final Thoughts….

One of the fun and interesting aspects of post processing is discovering all the different methods of achieving certain editing effects. Adding contrast to a photograph is one of the most basic edits a photographer can make to instantly add power to a photo. There are many ways to do this and you’ve just learned one. Try using the soft light blend mode technique to add contrast in a smarter, more controlled way. The soft light blend mode in PS makes it easy to quickly and effectively add punch to your images and it is something I use to some extent on virtually every photograph I process.

Making Fall Colors Pop with Adobe Lightroom

Here in the Northern hemisphere Autumn is in full swing. The colors of the leaves are changing and giving their last big show as we head into winter. The frosty mornings and golden hues offer outstanding opportunities for photographers to capture these beautiful Fall colors before they’re gone until next year.

In this article we’re going to talk about how you can make those bright Fall colors really pop in Adobe Lightroom! It doesn’t take much to make your images of the season standout. Let’s get started!

Bringing Out the Color

The main focus of majority of Autumnal photos is of course color. Bright Earth-tones and muted flavors of of brown and gray intermingle together to produce an incredible palate of gold. Here’s how to make all those beautiful tones come to the forefront in your image. We’ll begin with the Vibrance and Saturation sliders in the basic Development Panel of Lightroom.

Vibrance

The vibrance slider brings out the mid tone saturation of colors. It comes in handy when you want only the less saturated colors in the photo to be amplified. Look at this image before the vibrance was adjusted.

And now after

With +50 Vibrance

The key use of increasing the vibrancy of a photo is to maintain a natural and pleasing look to the colors that need to be intensified.

Saturation

Saturation and vibrance are closely related but at the same time affect different aspects of your image. Whereas vibrance boosts the colors which are less saturated, the saturation slider increases the color saturation of all the colors. This means that if a color is already well saturated it will become even more so when this slider is used. Here we have an image with color already well saturated.

If we boost the overall saturation, it leaves the image looking overly saturated with the color appearing fake and unnatural.

With +40 Saturation

The saturation is increased to the point of looking gaudy. So, be very careful when applying the saturation slider to the entire image.

The HSL Panel

If you want to get a little more advanced when edited your Fall photos then look no further than the HSL panel in Lightroom. It’s here where you can take full control of color.

The aptly named HSL panel adjusts the hue, saturation, and luminance of color. This is the master control station for color within your photo. Use this to not only affect the brightness and saturation of specific colors but also their hue. Here’s a photo before any HSL adjustments.

And now with the orange luminance and saturation increased…

The hue adjustments make colors appear more or less true to their original tone. For example, blue can appear more green or more purple; oranges more yellow or more red. Here we’ve changed the oranges to a lighter, more yellow hue.

While here, to a darker red hue.

Some Final Thoughts on Fall Photos…

Fall is a wonderful time of year for photography. If you’re seeking to make your images of Autumn to stand out from the crowd, try these simple tips that will help all those beautiful colors of the season shine through! Don’t be afraid to adjust the hues of the colors until they reflect how you felt about the scene. Likewise, don’t hesitate to actually DECREASE the saturation and vibrance of the colors in order to reach the final look that you want.

Previsualziation: Knowing Before the Shot

Previsualization, or simply “visualization”, is one of the most simply yet alarmingly difficult aspect of making your own photograph become more than just the some of their parts. When we “previsualize” our images it means that the appearance of the final outcome before we ever click the shutter button. The method of previsualization was championed by the photographically indomitable Ansel Adams who believed the best way to convey wholeness within a photograph was to strive to see it in your minds eye from the get go. Everything else would then be a matter of what needs to be done in order to reach your personally desired outcome.

But how is it done? Or more importantly, how can you learn to do it yourself? Ansel gave us a lot to go on and we can learn a lot from his legacy. At the same time, we can mesh together with modern digital techniques and expound into something I like to call dynamic visualization. We’ll get more into that in just a minute. But first, let’s talk about how you can begin to visualize the finished photograph before you actually make it manifest itself from your camera.

Learning to “See”

Teaching yourself to see the finished product on the front end of the process isn’t an easy thing to accomplish, especially not right out of the gate. The ability to visualize a finished photograph is somewhat paradoxical due to the fact that a large component of the skill involves shooting a lot of photographs. This means that visualization is a product of repetition. Each time you make a photograph, you see the effect of shooting at the technical factors you have selected. Pay close attention to what settings you use!

Once you begin to mentally catalog the cause and effect relationship between your techniques and their respective outcomes you will then gradually learn to approximate the particular look of a finished image before it is actually shot.

Be Patient

The largest detriment in learning how to visualize your finished photos is that confidence-killing frustration that often sneaks in from perceived failure. Will you be able to anticipate the exact outcome of your photographs each and every time? Of course not. Failure is an incredible teacher and this is especially true when it comes to learning the skill of photographic visualization.

So, don’t allow yourself to be discouraged by the tedium. Shoot as often as you can, practice seeing the finished photo in your mind, observe the results, and then apply those outcomes to future photographs. I assure you that being able to see a finished photo(or close approximation) will slowly begin to happen on its own.

Dynamic Visualization in the Digital Age

I want to speak briefly on the progression of the visualization process as it pertains to today’s digitally integrated world of photography. The technique is one I have coined as “Dynamic Visualization” and is a direct evolution of the visualization idea of Ansel Adams. It involves the instant feedback we now are capable of achieving with our digital photographs. As we no longer have to wait for development of our film to be completed before we see the results of our efforts, the process of visualization changes. We can now allow the readily displayed outcome of our photos to directly impact the mechanism of visualization in a much quicker and more dynamic fashion.

What I mean here is that we immediately view the image we have just captured and that quick feedback can organically spur our creativity in real-time. This can lead to alternative compositions and exposure combinations that we might not have otherwise considered, thusly changing the final visualized image in our minds. This dynamic visualization could in fact be the continuation of Ansels visualization method. We first visualize the finished photo we want to make, receive real-time feedback from our digital displays, and then use that information to mold alternate(possible better) visualizations.

Final Thoughts on Visualization

The hard truth about learning visualization is that it takes time, effort, and patience. There are no real shortcuts when it comes to teaching yourself to “see” a photograph before it’s made. Shoot as much as you can and observe the results carefully. See the results of your work and study your own work. Visualization happens as much by physical labor as it does by mental flexibility. The key is to keep trying until that visualization “aha” moment makes its way to you. Just keep shooting!

Review: K&F Concept 58mm Variable Neutral Density Filter

Neutral density filters(ND) are one of the staple components of virtually every serious landscape photographers gear bag(read some outdoor photography tips). The great thing ND filters allow us to do is shoot longer exposures in bright light without overexposure. A good analogy I always like to use is that ND filters are light sunglasses for your lens. Neutral density filters are a great way to remain flexible with your shooting even when conditions aren’t ideal.

Like most photographic equipment, you often get what you pay for…. That doesn’t mean that every piece of budget gear isn’t capable of yielding great results. The K&F Concept 58mm ND Fader Variable Neutral Density Adjustable ND Filter is quite a mouthful to say, but essentially it is a neutral density filter that is capable of shooting at various shades of darkening. This particular filter ranges from ND2-ND400. If we’re speaking in terms of f-stops, then it equates to 1-8 ⅔ stops of light reduction. The version I tested was the 58mm size and I used it with my trusty Canon EF 50mm F1.4.

Build Quality

The filter arrived well packaged and included a nice micro-fiber cloth along with a standard padded plastic filter case.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with the build of this ND filter from K&F. The material of the two elements is listed by the manufacturer as “optical quality glass” with the body of the filter likely being aluminum. Originally I had thought the housing was made from some type of resin but after a scratch test it turned out to indeed be metallic.

I was also pleased to note that both the stock lens cap and lens hood still worked perfectly while the filter was attached.

The filter itself functions by turning the outer ring to the desired darkening setting is reached. This ND filter functioned extremely smoothly with no binding or sticking points.

Optical Performance

As I mentioned earlier, there is most often an unavoidable compromise between cost and quality(with a few exceptions) when it comes to camera gear. The K&F Concept variable ND is a budget ND filter currently retailing for around $20US from both Amazon and Kentfaith.com. The performance of the filter was a mix of great to, well, not so great. When used at it’s lowest optical darkening setting, the results were wonderful for a filter at this price point.

1/100 second

Moving a little darker to approximately 3 stops of light reduction, the results were still great and allowed me to shoot long exposures with no real color tinting or vignetting to speak of from a practical standpoint.

1.3 seconds

Now, moving onto the darkest setting of ND400, or approximately 8 ⅔ stops, we see some extreme problems arise in terms of color tinting and image degradation.

25 seconds

For a $20 ND filter, I was honestly surprised at how well the filter performed up till now. And from a real world point of view, the filtration offered between ND2 and ND400(1-8 ⅔ stops) was outstanding. This lends me to believe that he overall results from this filter are perfectly workable from approximately 1 to 3-4 stops of darkening. Here are three more images showing the progression of image quality across the range of filtration. It’s interesting to note that while the last image shows significant quality reduction, the massively apparent purple tinting observed in the previous example is virtually nonexistent. This is possibly due to the lengthy exposure of 25 seconds used for the image above. The white balance of my camera was set to ‘Auto’.

1/200 second

1.6 seconds

4 seconds

Final Thoughts….

Given the low cost of this variable ND filter from K&F Concept, I have no problem with the limited performance results achieved from my tests.

Pros:

Low lost
Sturdy build
Looks great on the camera
Smooth operation

Cons:

Extreme color tint at dark settings

The fitler itself is well made, looks great, and lends itself to relatively respectable performance for a filter costing around $20US. Beginners will love it for its quality to cost ratio and even experienced photogs could find a place for it in their kit. The K&F Concept 58mm ND Fader Variable Neutral Density Adjustable ND Filter is a low cost option for those looking for a variable ND filter with good performance in the 1-4 stop range of light reduction. The diminished performance at the far end of the filters capabilities are indicative of the cost of the product and expectations should be tempered with that information in mind!

Effective Black and White Conversion in Lightroom

In a way, black and white photographs were part of the reason I became interested in photography. I was no more than twelve or thirteen when my parents bought me a black and white Kodak disposable film camera. Remember those? It contained one roll of black and white 35mm film. Everything was set for you…just wind, click, and repeat. The thirty six exposures from that roll of film displayed an alien world. No colors, just shades of grey and contrasts of light. I was dumbfounded at the power that even these simple images could convey.

A picture from that magic roll of film….

Fast forward over twenty years and we find ourselves in the middle of the roaring age of digital photography. Now, we can see the world with two different sets of eyes: one in color, one in black and white. In our digital darkrooms it’s easier than ever to make professional quality black and white conversions from your RAW image files. In this tutorial we’re going to show you how to take your images beyond black and white using Adobe Lightroom.

More than Desaturation

There is more than one way to convert your images to black and white in Lightroom. We start with this image….

Sure you can grab hold of that saturation slider and simply set it to zero. This works. But you lose so much due to the nature of the desaturation.

The photo is somewhat flat after setting the saturation to “0”.

While the color has been removed, so too have the luminance values of those colors. Luminance values are the brightness values of the specific colors within the photo. It’s these differences in lights and darks that make a strong black and white image. Without being able to control each colors luminance we are left with a flat and often uninteresting image. The most effective method for converting your photo to black and white is to convert it to grayscale and then adjust the image with the black and white portion of the HSL Panel. It’s incredibly easy and powerful tool for working with black and white photos. You’re about to learn how to do it right now!

The Grayscale Conversion

Changing our images to “black and white” actually means we are converting them to “Grayscale”. No, grayscale isn’t some kind of mythological skin condition…. Grayscale is simply the term used to describe black and white photos which are in reality shades of gray and not only black and white. To convert your image to grayscale, click the black and white treatment option at the top of the Basic Adjustment panel.

Which gives us this grayscale image of our original photo.

You can also achieve the same result by jumping directly to the HSL panel and clicking the black and white tab.

Basic adjustments can be made for things like exposure, contrast, clarity, ect., but remember that we’re about to do more work on the photo using the color luminance adjustment in the HSL Panel. These adjustments can affect the overall contrast of the image so its a good idea to keep your initial edits at a minimum.

Adjusting with the B&W Section of the HSL Panel

Now that we have a black and white image to work with it’s time to adjust them color luminance and really make our image stand out. You can adjust the sliders for each color to either darken or brighten them within the image but an easier way is to use the target adjustment option. It’s the little dot at the top left of the B&W section.

Using the target adjustment tool is useful since we can select the area of color we want lighten or darkened without actually having to remember the original colors. Simply click the target adjustment tool and then click the area of color in the photo. Just drag up or down to adjust.

In this photo, the sky is made up mostly of blue, reducing the blue luminance values can add some great dramatic effects to the sky.

The same is true for the other colors. Greens and yellows in the bushes can be brightened. The orange color of the ponies hair can be darkened. After some final tweaking in the basic panel we have this final black and white photograph.

Final Thoughts

Converting and processing your black and white images in Lightroom is an incredibly easy and fast process. It also will open up a whole new world of creativity for you and your photography. Think your photos aren’t black and white material? Try the techniques in this article and I can virtually guarantee you might begin seeing your images in a completely different light.

First Look at K&F Concept Large Professional Camera Backpack

When K&F Concept was first brought to my attention I will admit that I had never heard of the company before. The world of camera gear and gadgets is of course, “saturated” to say the least. So, when I took a closer look at K&F, I was pleasantly surprised at the apparent quality of many of their offerings.

I just received their “Large Professional Camera Backback” and after a quick once over I’d like to share my thoughts on this surprisingly outstanding(and affordable) gear bag.

So, grab a snack and take a seat. Hopefully you will be as happily surprised as I was to have a look at this nifty camera bag from K&F Concepts.

First Impressions

After a hurried unboxing, the bag emerged as a welcomingly unassuming backpack.

I was expecting it to be somewhat larger(it is a “large afterall) and I was glad to see it wasn’t bulky. The material itself resembles a stone washed denim and looks great. I like the look of the pack. Urban, casual, and streamlined. It would find itself well at home on the sidewalk during a street photography outing or as a refined travel option when shooting on the go. The bottom of the bag’s exterior is lined in black faux leather that adds not only aesthetic appeal but also protects the part of the bag that is likely to contact the ground the most.

The straps are nice and wide and very comfortable with a mesh backing that works to keep your shoulders cool.

There is an adjustable sternum strap which is awesome for distributing weight when you might overfill the pack. The nice thing about having an adjustable sternum strap is that it works with all manner of body sizes. Lady photographers also won’t have to worry about any unfortable “binding” from the strap.

All the zippers and straps are robust and work smoothly.

Space, space, and more space!

If there’s one thing that stands out with this K&F Concept backpack is the monumental engineering in regard to usable space. The storage real estate on this bag is outstanding. The bag itself is a flip open design which gives you front and rear access to the gear you need. We’ll start with the main compartment….

There are lots of padded partitions to keep your camera, lenses, flashes, and whatever else secured. The two main separators are padded but benefit from the addition of a rigid spine which helps keep larger lenses and camera bodies in place and helps the pack keep it’s shape loaded.

I was able to fit a smorgasbord of odd and end gear into the bag with no problems.

Gear shown: Canon 7D, Sony Zeiss Vario Tessar 24-70mm f4, Nikkor 85mm f1.4, Nikkor 50mm f1.8, Rokinon 14mm f2.8, Sigma MC-11 Converter, Canon 430EX Speedlight…stll lots of room left….

Flipping over to the front compartment we have lots of space for a laptop, tablet, paperwork, you name it.

There is room to hold so much here as well depending on your needs. Everything is secured with a large velcro strap. I was able to fit a 13 inch Chromebook into the pocket and had no worries about it being protected.

Tripod Carrier

Perhaps my absolute favorite feature of this backpack is the inclusion of a tripod carrier. There is strap and nifty fold-down flap(which sports has a zippered pocket) that serves to firmly secure your tripod to the bag.

This will work great with travel sized tripods such as the Vanguard VEO 235AB Travel Tripod I reviewed here LifePixel. The only thing I would have liked to have seen was the inclusion of a quick release clasp on the tripod tripod strap for quicker attachment and release of the tripod.

Closing thoughts….

The K&F Concept Large Professional Camera Backpack appears to be a great option for those who need a stylish gear carrier that can fit a monumental amount of camera equipment into a package which is wonderfully manageable. The appearance and comfort of the pack is great. I look forward to using this pack more in the field but if the initial impression of this pack holds I can highly recommend it for those needing a cost effective backpack-style camera bag.

Going Vintage with Adobe Lightroom

Retro Made Easy

When we think of “vintage style” photographs what we may be actually envisioning is a photo that bears many of the characteristics of analog film photography. These characteristics include subtle nuances in film grain and development, toning, and contrasts. The variations and combinations of these traits are quite literally too many to count but generally most vintage style photo-looks can be accomplished with just a few ridiculously simply edits in Adobe Lightroom. Generally speaking, vintage looking photographs are slightly faded with significant contrast. There are also some very slight color tones that are thrown into the mix in order to give a finished photo that has that great earthy feel of a analog photograph.

We’ll show you how to go from a RAW image file to a fully processed final image that has a nice vintage vibe. Here’s the before and after to give you an idea of just how impressive the results can be using just a few quick edits.

For this particular tutorial, we will look at a basic editing workflow for producing images with a vintage feel. But remember, this is just one look you can achieve. Don’t be afraid to experiment with color tones and contrast or even adding grain to your photo. The results can be fantastic!

Basic Edits First

We begin with a simple, and let’s face it, quite lackluster RAW file. Before we start with the vintage processing let’s do some basic edits to bring the image up to par for further processing. It’s always a good idea to do this before any other changes are made.

The edits applied here included some adjustments to color temperature and highlights as well as some adjustments to contrast and clarity. A couple of graduated filters were also used to even out the exposures of the sky and foreground. Here’s our processed RAW file that is now ready to go vintage.

Tone Curve

The tone curve has an undeserved bad reputation for being complicated to use. Nothing could be further from the truth once you have a basic understanding of how it affects your photo. For our vintage photo, most of the effects will be made using the tone curve adjustment. In most cases, begin with the tone curve set in “RGB” mode and the click the points to roughly an “S” shape with the curve. To add more fading, slightly drag the left most control point straight up the graph. In the case of this edit, I also moved the control point a small amount to the right to achieve the look I wanted.

I want to add a little bit of blue tone to the entire image. While still in the tone curve panel switch to the blue channel by selecting the dropdown menu below the graph. Keep in mind that you certainly don’t have to tone YOUR image with blue. The blue hue simply adds another element to the photo especially in the shadows which gives it a more vintage style. You could even use red or green if you like!

Final Tweaking in the Basic Panel

Now that we’ve reached a happy place with our tone curve it’s time to switch back to the Basic panel for a few final adjustments. In this case I increase the contrast while also reducing the highlights. After that I bring up the shadows. The colors in the photo are still a little too bright for me taste so I reduce the vibrance slightly. The color temp is just a slightly on the cool side so I also increase the temperature to warm the entire image a bit.

Vignette or Nah?

Our final step in the vintage conversion is to apply a slight vignette to help draw the viewers eye into the image. In come cases the vignette might not be desirable as in others. With this photo the darkening of the corners adds more appeal to the moody nature of the frame.

Careful not to go overboard here. Be sure to experiment with the feathering and shape of the vignette as well in order to get just the right look.

And here is the final vintage-styled photo. A considerable change from the dull and flat RAW file we started off with at the beginning of the article.

The fun thing about manufacturing vintage style photos in Lightroom is the shear enormity of the editing possibilities at your fingertips. Try out different combinations of color and toning to give different washes to your photographs. It’s definitely an easy way to add a little unique charm to your images without spending hours at the computer.

Profiled Photographers – Piotr Kulczycki

Polish born photographer Piotr Kulczycki has been a professional photographer for 12 years. But he has been taking photos since he was young. It started with initially using a cheap compact camera on family vacations. He thanks his parents who took him to a different city in Poland for a couple weeks, every summer. He was hooked from the first trip and about 12 years ago he received his first DLSR as a gift, which led to his obsession of taking photos and traveling.

He says “I guess photography was always a very important part of my life and always will be. I can’t imagine going on vacation without my camera. From the moment I got my hands on my first DSLR camera I knew I wanted to focus on photography and become a professional so I spent all my free time traveling and photographing the world. If somebody told me back then that I would travel to almost 100 countries, I wouldn’t believe them”.

Piotr, where are you from?

I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Poznań, Poland.

Where do you currently live?

At the moment, I live in my home city of Poznań, in Poland. But I’ve lived in a few places. During my time at university, I spent the entire summer in the US, working and traveling and that’s when my passion for photography began. Then back in 2006 I lived in London for a whole year, working full time as a web designer and learning English. The main goal however was to finally come back to Poznań, where my roots are.

What genre of photography do you specialize in?

I specialize in travel photography. It’s basically the perfect combination of both of my passions. Taking photos and exploring the beauty of the world. There’s no better feeling than waking up with the sun and exploring new locations for the first time. It reignites my passion and inspiration for photography. Nature is the best model and muse at the same time.

Describe your style of photography?

I like to show the places I visit just as they are. Colorful and beautiful, but also poor and dirty – exactly the way life looks like in a certain place. But I always try to find the hidden beauty, even in the most unexpected places. I also tend to shoot places and monuments in a way that has never been done before… I mean, I don’t want to take just another similar view of the Eiffel Tower, like the ones you can find on Google. My goal is to show things differently.

What are you working on at the moment?

Right now, I’m developing my own, new project – Photler, a website creator for travel photographers (www.photler.com). After my website, World In My Lens, gathered great recognition thanks to its design, I decided to give other travel photographers a tool to create their own website – just like mine.

I realized that despite there being so many web-builders, travel photography was overlooked and didn’t get the attention it deserves. Photler provides interactive world map which is an exclusive feature for travel photographers. It’s new way of travel photographers showcasing their travels.

We took quite a new approach to selling their photos as well. Every penny is important when it comes to traveling so at Photler, photographers can sell images on their own terms. They set the price and 100% of this money goes to them. Unlike other photography stock agencies, we don’t take any commissions on sales that they make. Combine this with Photler’s beautiful, uncluttered themes and their photos will be ready to amaze the world.

What is your next project or assignment?

Well… further development of Photler, of course! My team and I are doing our best to reach as much photographers as possible, so that their online presence gets better. As for my travels, my next destination is Chile. South America has been on my bucket list for quite a long time now. Finally, I managed to secure 2 whole weeks to explore this part of the world. It’s been a while since I felt such high level of excitement for a trip. I would definitely share my photos from there on World In My Lens & Photler after coming back, so do check them out!

Are there any photographers whose work/style you admire?

My favorite photographers are Chris Burkard and Sean Pavone. I like their style and I must admit they inspire me greatly. Their portfolios are my place to go when I need some photography inspiration. It’s almost like I feel challenged every time I browse their photos – challenged to become a better photographer and that’s an amazing feeling.

What is your favorite memory from your experiences?

Seeing Machu Picchu in Peru. It’s probably the most memorable place I’ve seen in my life. Machu Picchu has always been on top of my “To do” list and it didn’t disappoint! Getting to the Inca citadel wasn’t easy, but the whole journey was definitely worth it. I recommend it to everyone.

What’s the biggest photographic challenge you overcame?

Shooting in the heat of Dubai. I have to say; the city is simply stunning. But the camera doesn’t like the heat! And your hands become so slippery. I was so amazed by the views, but the temperature was hard to bear. Plus, the height of the buildings – luckily, I have a fish eye lens which did the job perfectly.

What’s in your camera bag?

I own a Canon 5D Mark III body, Canon lenses: 17-40mm f/4 L and 70-200mm f/2.8 L which are my favorite. I also shoot with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM and Samyang 12mm f/2.8 from time to time. I’m a huge fan of Lee ND filters. Couple of memory cards, a tripod, a backpack to carry it all around, a MacBook and iPhone are also always with me.

What photographic equipment would you never leave home without?

The body, the first two lenses I mentioned and the filters. And my iPhone. Batteries and memory cards are also on the priority list.

What advice you would give anyone who is starting out?

Have a professional website from the very start. It’s your best portfolio which you can show to anyone and everyone has it these days, so you have to stand out from the crowd. Plus, never forget that it’s a business. As far as photography itself goes, shoot, shoot and, one more time, shoot as much as you can. Find your niche, where you feel comfortable and stick with it. Find your own style, don’t try to copy other photographers. There are thousands of them but only one you.

Any pitfalls they should avoid?

Don’t underestimate the power of social media as a promotion tool. It’s the best way to let people know about your business. Your future and past clients are probably already on it and that is where a lot of contacts can be made. We tend to work with people we like and know so let others know you better.

Lastly… if you weren’t a photographer what would you be doing?

I’d probably be a managing director at a digital agency, just as I’m now. During my time in London as a web designer I fell in love with the job and that’s why I would stick with it. But the fact that I travel makes a huge difference and it’s a great way to rest from the office work.

To view more of Piotr’s work or get in contact with him visit www.worldinmylens.com or follow him on him social media channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photler/?fref=ts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photlercom/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/photlercom

Interview by Kav Dadfar.

What’s In My Camera Bag?

The question that I get asked the most is what camera equipment I carry with me when I go on an assignment. My first bit of advice to anyone is to only carry what you need. After all, who wants to walk around all day with an extra 10kg on their back? But at the same time, you don’t want to be caught short, so as always, planning carefully and creating a shot list before you travel can be invaluable. The second bit of advice is not to get too concerned about your actual equipment. A great photo will look great whether it’s taken with a smart phone or the latest DSLR. Composition, lighting and creativity are far more important than how much your camera cost.

When starting out you should try and get together a basic set of equipment that will cover you for most situations. You can then add more specialized equipment depending on the nature of your shoots and your experience.

Camera

I have always used Canon cameras and my camera of choice at the moment is a Canon 5D MK III. It is an exceptional camera that won’t let you down and stands up very well at high ISO settings. Whenever possible I try to carry an extra body with me that I leave in my hotel room just in case anything happens to my main camera. This is especially valuable in remote places where you won’t be able to find a spare. The last thing you need when you have limited time at a place is to have to run around to try and find another camera or even worst be without one, so a spare can be indispensable.

Lenses

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 II USM zoom lens

This lens is my workhorse and what I use the majority of the time. I love this lens because the focal range means it is perfect for landscapes as well as a wonderful lens to take portraits with. The great thing about this lens is that you have to get close to your subject. It is also fast enough to use in low light conditions, so ideal for places such as markets.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens

This Canon telephoto lens, which comes with a hefty price tag, is an outstanding lens and definitely worth the cost. Great for portraits and close-ups, but also fantastic for landscapes if you want to isolate a small section of the scene.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens

If I could carry one lens with me, it would be this lens. My head would say my 24-70mm Canon lens but my heart would go for this. The great thing about prime lenses such as this are that as a photographer, you have to move and get up close to what you are photographing. This becomes especially powerful when photographing people as it helps build a connection with your subject. Photographer Robert Capa once said “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough”. This is where prime lenses can really help you. This lens is also fast enough to mean that you can photograph in low light conditions without having to bump up your ISO too high.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

For anyone interested in travel photography, one of the most important parts of a destination is the local food. Although not essential, macro lenses are great for photographing food as they allow you to get really close and pick up the beautiful details of what is on the dish.

Flash

One of the common misconceptions of flashes is that they should only be used in low light settings, but this is probably the worst time to use a flash as it can wash out the subject if not used correctly. Flashes are extremely useful when you need some fill flash (for example, if you are taking a portrait of someone in intense light which is causing harsh shadows on their face, a flash can help eliminate the shadows). For this reason, I always carry my Canon Speedlite 580EX II flash with me.

Tripod

Most photographers will probably tell you that their tripod is the one essential accessory that they can’t live without. A tripod is essential if you are planning any shots which require long shutter speeds as you simply will not be able to keep the camera steady enough by hand.

But a tripod is also what’s going to support all your expensive camera equipment so you should choose it wisely. The Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 is a sturdy carbon fibre tripod which is lightweight to carry. I also use a Manfrotto 327RC2 light duty grip ball head to connect my camera to the tripod.

Filters

All of my lenses are fitted with a Hoya Pro 1 Digital UV filter. This helps protect the lens glass, especially in very harsh conditions such as the desert. I also carry a range of Cokin Neutral Density filters and Graduated Neutral Density filters which are extremely beneficial for landscape photography. The only other filter I carry is a Cokin polarizing filter which is very useful for eliminate reflections and boost blues and greens.

Other bits

Memory cards, hard drives and laptop – I take enough memory cards with me so that I can cover each day I’m away on a separate card. I also take a few additional ones in case I need more than one in a day. However, at the end of each day, I still back up my card on two separate 250GB hard drives so that all my photos from that day are saved in 3 different places.

Lens and camera cleaning kit, spare batteries and chargers – You should get into the habit of giving your camera and lenses a wipe at the end of each day and charging your batteries so that everything is ready for the next day. I have seen so many newbie photographers turn up somewhere only for their battery to run out with no spare, so make sure you are prepared.

This is a basic set of equipment that I carry with me wherever I travel to and I add to these as I see fit. For example, architectural photographers might want to take a tilt and shift lens or wildlife photography a 400mm lens. But remember try to only take what you are going to need.

Working a Scene – Multiple Compositions

“I wish I would have…”

Hate to have those words pass through my mind. Usually, you won’t hear them unless enough time wasn’t taken shooting options at a scene. It doesn’t take much time and the heartache saved, especially when photographing a place where conditions are very good or it might be difficult or impossible to return.

I’m talking about trying different ideas when photographing a subject. Many times over the years I’ve caught myself not looking for more than the obvious when making images. Let’s look at some of the options in composition that were added for a totally different feel in each image. This was from an infrared session in the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona. The scene is Courthouse Butte in the Village of Oak Creek. It happens to be a few minutes away from my house and I photograph it often. Even then, especially when the clouds are working, I want to get the most out of the session or even a quick stop, as possible.

The main scene Courthouse Butte

A relatively small change in framing can make a big difference in the feel of a place. Let’s look at some possibilities.

A vertical version that features the tree as subject with Courthouse as a secondary subject.

Another vertical version with lots of open sky. Possibilities include full page magazine or cover option.

How about square??

Another possible cover use with slightly different composition, totally different feel even though it’s the same basic subject.

The Capture Process

Images were captured with the Lumix G6 which was converted to IR by LifePixel. My current workflow when shooting is to bracket one stop over and one stop under in RAW plus jpeg. For the jpeg the camera is set to process to black and white. This gives me a very good feel for the IR look as I shooting right on the back of the camera. You can set your camera to black & white but if you are only shooting in RAW Mode you will only see the BW image on the back of the camera. When you download your images the BW preview will be stripped from the image because you asked for ONLY the RAW info. The camera’s settings are only ‘baked in’ to the file if you are capturing jpeg files.

For this particular set of files I used the RAW file with the middle exposure. I processed in Adobe Camera RAW. The settings were to bring the Temperature Slider all the way to Blue and the Tint Slider all the way to green. Contrast was bumped up. Highlights brought down a little. Shadows up. Whites up. Blacks down. Clarity up a bit. Remove all Saturation.

Here’s what the settings looked like in the Camera RAW dialog box.

After the files were opened in Photoshop I used the (recently made free) NIK Color FX Pro 4 plugin with the Glamour Glow setting to get the IR ‘glow’ in the highlights.

One more thought when you are working a good subject. Sometimes it makes sense to get a totally different view. Got in the car and looked for a totally new composition.

Yours in Creative Photography, Bob

6 Tips For Photographing Famous Landmarks

Famous landmarks are often the busiest and most photographed places in the world. But they are that busy and photographed for a reason. Often this is because they are impressive buildings, works or art or even natural phenomena. For any travel photographer they are an absolute must from a destination. Although it can seem difficult, capturing unique and stylish photos of famous landmarks is possible with some hard work. Follow these simple tips to capture better landmark photos.

Walk Around

The thing I always find staggering at these landmarks is the number of people who turn up, take a few photos and then head off. Not only are they not experiencing the landmark but they are also not allowing themselves enough time to do their photos justice. The first thing you should do at any landmark is just walk around and get a feel for the place. Whilst walking around have a think about viewpoint and scenes that could be photogenic. Off course you should have your camera ready in case a situation arises that you don’t want to miss, but this should be about you finding good spots from which you can photograph.

Once you’ve got a good feel about the place you can begin to compose your image, think about the light and start photographing.

Include The Crowd

You usually have to accept, that landmarks are going to be teeming with tourists. There is no way around this unless you arrive really early in the morning and are lucky enough to have few visitors or are prepared to be patient and wait for gaps in the flow of traffic. So rather than fighting it, sometimes it’s better to make the tourists a part of the composition. After all, the tourists are a big part of the story of landmarks. The other advantage of featuring people is that it can make your images unique and stand out from the crowd. Everyone has seen enough photographs of the famous landmarks around the world so to really stand out you need to show something different.

Use A Tripod

If you want to photograph your landmark from the outside, then it is likely that it would look best with a soft golden light in the early hours of the morning or late afternoon with some landmarks being great for photographing at night. If you are planning on photographing in any of these conditions (i.e. low light) you will require a tripod to avoid camera shake. But using a tripod will also allow you the opportunity to add creative effects into the photo such as movement from people and vehicles which will usually look great against the famous landmark.

Do Your Research

You’ll find it difficult to find a famous landmark that hasn’t been photographed from every angle thousands of times. So to capture unique photos, you need to understand what already exists out there. Before photographing a landmark you should spend time researching it but also research potential new ways and places you can photograph it from. All you need to do is simply type the landmark into Google and you’ll have thousands of results. Not only will this give you a better chance of capturing a unique photo, but by learning more about it and its history you may find that you appreciate it more when you see it.

Isolate A Small Part

Sometimes the best photos of famous landmarks are the ones which are not the obvious photos that capture the whole place. A small frame of a landmark can sometimes show people a completely new way of looking at it. A way that is often missed by the naked eye. Your research will play a big part in the arming you with the knowledge of important parts of the landmark. But the key is to really study and observe every corner of the landmark so that you can isolate a small part whilst still conveying the main message.

Capture The Experience

It is easy to be overawed by the magnificence of the landmark before you. But sometimes the real story is happening all around the landmark itself. Whether that is by tourists gasping in awe or locals simply going about their everyday lives without a care of what is in front of them. So every now and again look away from the landmark and look for moments that can help tell a completely different story.

Rules Are Not There To Be Broken

Whilst most of these landmarks have no problem with photography, you should still be aware of any rules in place. Often some of these places allow photography on the outside but not inside. If that’s case, observe the rules and don’t break them.

Landmarks are rightly some of the most photographed places in the world and often very difficult to photograph well. After all any photo is competing with thousands and sometimes millions before it not mention the hordes of crowds who you often have to consider. But to capture unique and stunning photos of these landmarks is not impossible. It will just take research, perseverance and commitment to fulfill.

7 Tips For Photographing Skylines

Skylines are often one of the most defining visuals of a city. Every city has its own unique skyline and should be on every travel photographer’s shot list for any location. However, capturing great skyline photos isn’t easy and requires planning and perseverance. Here are a few simple tips to help you capture great photographs of skylines.

The Right Location

The big advantage of photographing skylines is that the majority of the time there are pretty well established vantage points around the city that offer great views of the city skyline. However, this does mean that as a photographer you have to work harder and think more creatively to be able to capture unique photos. Like most types of photography, you will need to plan and research in advance to find the right location. There are various websites to help and the likes of Google Maps make it easier than ever to plan your skyline photos.

Start by looking at existing photos of the city online to get a sense of what already exists and the angles that are available on view. Then using a map, plot points around the city where you have a good clearance in front of you such as a river or large park. But keep in mind that you will need to be a fair distance away to ensure you capture a wide photo and also to keep the vertical lines of the buildings straight in your photo. Finally, when you get to the city, be prepared to scout the locations out and try to find new ones. Speaking to locals or even looking at local post cards can often give you a good indication of any locations you might have not thought about.

Take Your Equipment

Whenever possible I try not to carry too much equipment with me, after all there’s nothing worse than having to walk around all day in the heat with a load of unneeded camera equipment. However, when you are photographing skylines there are a few things that you will most certainly need so it’s best to ensure you have them with you. These include:

A tripod, if you are photographing early morning, late afternoon or at any other time that you might need long exposure times
A wide angle lens is usually what you would need, but there might also be occasions where you would need a telephoto lens if you are very far away from the skyline
An array of filters – these could be anything from Neutral Density filters to Polarizing filters
Cable release to ensure that you don’t touch the camera if you are going to take photos using long exposure as this could cause camera shake
Waterproof layers for you and something to cover your camera equipment if there is a chance of rain
Warm clothes – even during the summer some places can be cold early morning or late in the evenings

Use Early Morning or Late Afternoon Light

It’s not a secret that most of the landscape photos that we usually find stunning are usually taken at dawn or dusk. The hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset give a beautiful light, which when mixed with interesting cloud formations or weather can transform a mundane scene into a magnificent vista. In fact, you can get two very contrasting photos taken from the same place at different times of the day depending on the light and weather. The key is to always leave yourself enough time in your trip but also during that day to return to the location if you need to.

Wait For Night

It’s so easy to pack up and go home after sunset especially if you’ve had a long day, but often cities come to life in the evening. When the building lights and street lamps illuminate the city, this is arguably when the skyline is at it’s most visually striking. So instead of packing up after sunset, wait around for an hour or so and you can capture the city skyline at it’s best. You will definitely need a tripod if you are planning to photograph at night, as you will have long exposure times, so make sure not to leave it behind.

Zooming In Is OK

Sometimes it’s impossible to capture the entire skyline because you are either too close to it or too far away. After all, a photograph of a city skyline where the majority of the photos is plain sky and water with a very thin strip for the skyline isn’t going to work. Or it could be that you are actually too close and can’t capture the entire skyline. In these situations you may need to either zoom into the scene to just capture a small selection of the view or simply focus on one part of the scene. For example, this might be a bridge in the foreground or an interesting building. Sometimes zooming into a scene with lots of different architecture can give you an abstract photo, which helps diversify your portfolio.

Think About The Rule Of Thirds

One of the big pitfalls of photographing skylines is having too much “dead space” where nothing interesting is taking place. Too much plain white overcast sky and the photo looks dull and interesting, and too much of a plain foreground could also have the same effect, so it is important to think about all aspects of your composition and not just the skyline part. This is where the rule of third can help by helping you reduce this “dead space” and helping you add points of interest when the photo needs it. Try to position your horizon either 1/3^rd up from the bottom of the photo (if you have an interesting sky) or 2/3^rd up if you have an interesting foreground with a point of interest. This way you are maximizing the interesting elements in the scene and minimizing the elements that don’t enhance the photo.

Make The Most Of Your Hotel

Believe it or not, one of the best places to photograph city skylines is from hotels and roof top bars, because these are often positioned to give their customers the best view of the city. And if you are lucky enough to be staying at one of these hotels, you can get great photos right from your doorstep. Research is key, so prior to booking your hotel room, keep this in mind, and when you arrive at your hotel always ask if they have a room with a view of the skyline. I have lost count of the number of times I was able to take skyline shots from my hotel – and sometimes even from my room!

There is no doubt that skylines can provide some incredibly striking photographs which can be stand-out shots on their own but can also work as part of a portfolio. The most important factor is researching and planning to maximize your time. Vantage points are often dotted around a city so you need to ensure you are fully prepared for where to be and at what time. Once you are there the challenge is to capture unique shots that can do the scene justice.

Photogenic Places – a simple guide to photographing Venice

Venice always feels to me like it was built to be photographed. This collection of more than 100 small islands that rose from the swamps of the Adriatic Sea has grown to become one of the most photogenic places in the world. Stunning architecture, secluded alleyways, picturesque lagoons and not to mention their annual carnival, make Venice one of the best cities in the world to practice your photography. Here are some simple tips for capturing the best that Venice has to offer.

The Carnival

This beautiful city comes even more alive during the annual Venice Carnival, and every year more than three million visitors flock to join the fun and it’s easy to see why. The wonderful thing about the Venice Carnival is that it’s like being in a giant outdoor studio as you have a host of ready and willing models that will pose for your images.

But rather than just snapping away, firstly try to be patient and think about the composition and your background. Then try to direct your model to where you want them in order to obtain the perfect shot. Don’t be afraid to get close to your subject either so that you can pick up all of the details of the costumes and masks. You’ll need a telephoto lens, which will let you zoom in and let the subject fill the entire frame. You’ll end up with a beautifully colourful image but make sure that the eyes are in focus and look sharp otherwise your image will look soft and unappealing.

The Backstreets & Rialto Market

Remember that there is more to Venice than just St. Marks Square, and all the elegant costumes and masks are just one of the things that you can photograph. During the Carnival there are celebrations everywhere, so head to the quieter backstreets to capture an alternative to the masks and costumes around the busy, famous landmarks. Even at other times of the year the backstreets of Venice offer great opportunities for street photography.

Beyond the main tourist sites, one of the best places to photograph is the Rialto Market. Get there early and you can capture locals purchasing goods and produce. Remember to take your time when photographing markets, and try to capture the experience. A moment of interaction between vendor and customer is one of the best ways to capture the shopping experience.

The Bridges and Canals

It’s no surprise that Venice is known for its bridges as there are 417 of them. Every single one offers great photo opportunities, but instead of just focusing on the bridge, try to compose the image with other elements such a gondola or people so that you can tell a much more interesting story. After all, these bridges have all been photographed a million times, so to make your images standout you need to portray them in a different way to the other images out there.

The most famous bridges that you should look to photograph are:

Bridge of Sighs
Rialto Bridge
Academy Bridge
Scalzi Bridge
Calatrava Bridge

No portfolio of Venice would be complete without capturing some of the amazing canals that meander through the city, but keep in mind that canals themselves are not that exciting for viewers to see. Try to look for opportunities where you can weave a story into the image such as combining them with the bridges in the same composition.

Walk the Streets

With no cars or roads, Venice is one of the best and safest places in the world to do some street photography. The best way to do this to do this is to simply walk from one point on a map to another and keep your eyes open for what is around you. Be on the lookout for:

Locals going about everyday life
Interesting shops and products on sale
Tourists interacting with locals or each other
Local customs and traditions
Details in things around you such as drinking fountains in the street

It’s needless to say that anytime that you are doing any street photography you need to be ready. That means having your camera on, with the lens cap off and the correct settings. The last thing you would want is to miss a great photo opportunity because you have to get your camera out of your bag.

Art and Architecture

Buildings and palaces in Venice are built in a mixture of styles such Byzantine, Baroque and Gothic. Every building has ornate sculptures and carvings and makes Venice an ideal city to capture art and architectural photos. The opportunities are endless as you don’t always have to capture the entire building or sculpture. Instead, sometimes just focus on the small part of the detail and get up-close to fill the entire frame. This will often show people details that are missed by the naked eye and can give good variety to your portfolio.

The Flood

Named Acqua alta, or “high water,” this phenomenon is often mistaken for proof that Venice is sinking. But even though Venice is sinking a couple of millimeters every year, the main reason behind these floods is geological factors such as high tide, low atmospheric pressure and wind direction. Although these floods are a real inconvenience to the local population, they do mean completely new and unique photo opportunities that showcase a different side of Venetian life. So if you do happen to be around during the flood, rather than packing your camera away, think of how you could capture photos which highlight this event. Surface water is also great to capture reflections in. But remember to always stay safe!

Venice is like no other city in the world and offers an array of opportunities for photographers whatever your preferred genre is. With careful planning and research you can cover a lot over just a few days. But try and capture a good mix of photos by creating a shot list before you leave home to stop your collection feeling repetitive. With so much to photograph it is easy to build a diverse collection, in fact, your only problem will be that you won’t want to leave.

Now it’s your turn, share your tips and photos below.

The London Blog – Perspective in IR

I recently returned from the UK, where I love being a visitor in my homeland.

A great delight for me is capturing a different perspective of buildings and sites that I previously took for granted. This is something I highly recommend as a photographer. Take time to be tourists, whether visiting new locations, or just in your hometown, and really absorb what you see around you.

While I am aware that you have all just read a wonderful, and informative, blog, about capturing images in London, I would like to take you on a slightly different journey, but cover some of the same ground.

I am lucky enough to have dual citizenship – UK and USA. I studied and worked in London, and have fond memories of riding my bicycle to work from the Cromwell Road to Trafalgar Square. It was what I affectionately like to remember as my ‘Princess Diana’ period, where many young girls wore high collars, pearls and long skirts that frequently got caught in the spokes of the bicycle wheel! I very much enjoyed my job as a research assistant for a Member of the European Parliament, who was also a lobbyist. But I am ashamed to admit that all too often, I took my surroundings for granted, passing iconic buildings every day without missing a beat. My job meant that I was a frequent visitor to the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and 10 Downing Street.

Moving forward many years, I now live in San Jose, California, and delight in visiting London as a tourist. I only really found the time to reflect upon the beautiful city of my birth once I left London, and revisited with my children, taking them on the bus tours, which is such a brilliant way of navigating through this great city.

Perspective is such a wonderful thing. Not only through the eyes of someone who should have lapped up her surroundings, but also through the lens of a camera. So this blog concentrates on perspectives. The images I am sharing with you are not meant to be great photographic masterpieces, rather the result of experimenting with my newly converted Canon 1D Mk III. I did not take the time to consider all the accouterments I should have included in my bag, I simply grabbed a lens (the wrong one as it turned out, but this is when you aim to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse!).

Many areas of the Houses of Parliament are being renovated, so it is hard to capture any image, let alone that perfect image. I focused in on Big Ben and the London Eye, and attempted to capture my IR shots from a unique angle (yes, this also had something to do with the lens I neglected to change before hopping on the train!). I had some epic fails, due in part to the softer focus, and my inability to accurately check focus due to the muddy reddish images reflected in my viewfinder. But I enjoyed editing a few of these using a mixture of Lightroom, Photoshop and Nik plugins. I love the contrasts that come through the IR image.

I also captured a couple of street shots, and love how the IR element makes images, that are clearly modern, appear as if they were taken earlier this century.

How many times do we go to an assignment, take the required shots, and sigh with relief once it is over? I wish I had taken more time to rest for a moment, and take a few shots for myself (and I am not talking about after assignment beverages!). Have fun with your camera, play with your settings, your lenses, and if you have become in any way jaded, find a new perspective and get excited again! The end result just needs to please you. Sometimes (as you can see in the image below) it is also great to experiment and create something that pushes the truth.

Since I am on the subject of perspective. I do so enjoy leaving work behind, if I can, when I travel. Buildings answer back in an extremely different way to humans. Buildings don’t complain if they look slightly overweight, or you capture them from the wrong angle. They may seem to groan every once in a while from the steady flow of foot traffic gawping and admiring in turn, but they are gentle and forgiving. Photographing for websites and various other forms of content is all well and good, but if this is what you do, take a break and become a tourist in your own town. You will be glad you did!

8 Tips to Improve Your Mountain Photos

Mountains have been captivating photographers ever since the early cameras were invented. Renowned photographers like Ansel Adams spent a considerable amount of their time capturing landscapes that highlighted the beauty of them, however, capturing an image that might do the scene justice isn’t always straightforward. Follow these simple tips to help you next time you are looking to photograph mountain scenery.

Scout The Location

There is no doubt about it, if you want to capture great photos of mountains, you will need to do your research before you even leave home. That means understanding everything you possibly can about the location, the weather and the direction and intensity of the light, although that research is only the start. Once at the location you often have to scout the location to find the best viewpoint. This means you need to allow yourself enough time to so that you are able to visit the location and still have an opportunity to go back if you need to.

Catch The Best Light

It’s no secret that a big element of any sort of landscape photography is the lighting. Early mornings and late afternoons offer the best light as the low sun enhances shadows and saturates the colours. But that doesn’t mean you can’t photograph at other times of the day. You just need to consider the direction and intensity of the light, but try to avoid photographing landscapes in the midday sun. The harsh light can make a scene seem flat and uninteresting.

Consider The Foreground

Often, when photographing mountains, your immediate foreground is clear because you are some distance away from the mountain range that you are capturing. This means your foreground becomes incredibly important to your image. You need to avoid having too much “dead space” in the photo so try to find something that can add a point of interest to the foreground. Not only will it enhance the photo, but also lead the viewers’ eyes into the distance and the mountain range.

Bad Weather Adds Mood

There’s nothing enjoyable about being caught in the cold and wet out in the wilderness. However, bad weather can lead to incredibly stunning and moody photographs of mountains. If you are brave enough to head out, you can capture photos that really are incredibly unique and powerful. Stormy dark clouds are great backdrops for mountain ranges, whilst fog can add a completely different element to your photos. Always remember that mountains are dangerous places where the weather can change dramatically without notice, so always make sure you are well prepared and most importantly stay safe.

Experiment In Portrait Mode

The majority of time you will be photographing in landscape mode, although sometimes mountains look great when photographed in portrait mode. But your foreground (or the sky) becomes even more important when photographing in portrait mode, so make sure that you are paying close attention to these parts of the composition.

Consider Your Horizon

Whatever the landscape that you are photographing, where you place your horizon can have a huge impact on the photo. If you have an interesting foreground, place your horizon further up in the image so that the viewer sees more of the foreground. If your mountain range is being supported by a dramatic sky, place your horizon lower so that you show more of the sky. The majority of time you need to avoid putting your horizon in the middle of the photo.

Add A Person

One of the big challenges when photographing mountains is conveying the sense of scale. The best way to achieve this is to add a person to the composition. The viewer will find it much easier to interpret and get a sense of scale when there is a person in the photo. The other advantage of introducing a person in the photo is that it can make the image tell a much more of an interesting story rather than a generic landscape.

Get The Technical Elements Right

You have done your research, scouted the location, worked out the best time to take the picture and composed it in your mind. Now you need to ensure that the final result is technically perfect. The last thing you would want is for your image to be let down because it’s not sharp.

Close the aperture to increase the depth of field. Generally you will be looking at f8 – f16
When using long exposure, ensure you lock up the mirror on your camera to avoid vibrations which will blur the image
For long exposures you will need a tripod. It is also a good idea to use a remote release cable to avoid camera shake. If you don’t have one, simply set your camera mode to timer (usually 2 or 3 sec)
A polarization filter can be invaluable as it can remove reflections (especially useful when photographing near snow or ice and also water) and can also really enhance the blues in the sky which contrast well against mountain ranges

Mountains make wonderful subjects to photograph, and if done well can stand out in any portfolio. Just follow these simple tips and you will be well on your way.

Now it’s your turn. Share your awesome mountain photos below.