Today one of our favorite wildlife photographers shares a secret he says significantly improves how the subject of an image is perceived. What makes this simple trick so powerful is that it can works wonders for just about any photo you shoot outdoors.
What if you were told you there is a much better way to focus, and pros use it all the time for faster, more precise subject acquisition? If we just grabbed your attention, read on to see how it's done.
Capturing sharp photos is a goal of all photographers, and it's best to get the job done in the camera. That's because things can go wrong when attempting to fix soft images in post-processing.
If you were taught to always shoot at the lowest ISO setting possible, join the club. But as you'll see in the enlightening tutorial below, this is one of those "rules of photography" that's meant to be ignored.
If you're unfamiliar with the term "ghosting" as pertains to photos, it's basically a type of flare that occurs when stay light reflects off the surface of a lens and make images look hazy with little contrast. It's an unsightly artifact that degrades the quality of an image—particularly when shooting into the sun.
DSLRs are becoming a rarity these days, for reasons you'll see in the video below. If you're already using a mirrorless camera, or plan to get one in the near future, this tutorial is a must see.
Bird photography is an exciting and very accessible genre, with beautifully colored subjects as close as your own backyard. Yet, some shooters feel intimidated and overwhelmed because they mistakenly think photographing our feathered friends is beyond their skills.
Let's say you've tried all the conventional advice for capturing sharp photos, and some of your images are still soft. You use a tripod, choose the right aperture, shutter speed, and focus area, yet nothing seems to work.
If you're familiar with Lightroom's frequently ignored Dehaze tool, there's more to it than adjusting a slider if you want the best possible results. And if you've never used this powerful and easy-to-use tool, now is the time to start.
One variable that can make or break a photo is how the color in your scene is represented. Typically, the goal is natural-looking tones (unless a special effect is what you're after). And that's OK too.
One variable that can make or break a photo is how the color in your scene is represented. Typically, the goal is natural-looking tones (unless a special effect is what you're after). And that's OK too.
When making color adjustments in post-processing, Saturation plays a big role, whether you're after a realistic representation or something more unusual. We have some good news for those of you who use the Curves Adjustment tool to refine Saturation: Earlier this month Adobe added a very small adjustment that can pay big dividends by tackling a common problem with this approach.
Instructor Matt Kloskowski is a specialist in all things Adobe, who says his goal is "to provide straightforward tutorials to help photographers get the results they've always wanted," and this episode fits the bill. He jumps right in to Lightroom's Tone Curve panel and demonstrates how the new capability works.
Kloskowski begins by demonstrating the most common approach, that involves boosting the highlights and mid-tones a bit and then dropping the shadows by grabbing the relevant points on the Curve. This method, unfortunately, often results in oversaturation.
But here's the trick, now you'll find a simple Refine Saturation slider beneath the Curves graph that simplifies the fix because it's no longer necessary to employ Blend modes to get Saturation right. Kloskowski uses a tight shot of a vibrant hummingbird against a green background to demonstrate how easy this is to do.
This quick trick works with all sorts of photos, and Kloskowski pulls up a pretty seascape scene to prove this point. As you'll see, in this case he's able to retain the desired amount of contrast, without oversaturating the shot—simply by moving the slider. Whether you prefer light pastel colors, or a more vibrant look, the new tool gets the job done in a hurry.
After watching the video how about pulling up a few images you've already processed and see what you can create by using Kloskowski's advice. We think you may be surprised at how simple and effective this is to do.
You can find a wide range of editing tips and tricks on Kloskowski's instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look.
We also recommend watching the tutorial we posted from another accomplished pro, with an in-camera technique for using complimentary colors to capture eye-popping photographs.
Attaining fast and precise focus is a primary goal of just about every photographer, regardless of the type of images they shoot. When soft photos result with regularity, the first thing that comes to mind is, "I must be doing something wrong."
Image noise can really ruin an otherwise nice photo with ugly artifacts that appear as random speckles of grain and unsightly variations in the brightness and colors of your shot. It's a rather common occurrence, shrouded in a common misconception, that's demystified in the tutorial below.
If you've never had the time or money to go on a photo safari, today is your lucky day. You don't have to pack a suitcase or pay for hotel rooms and expensive plane tickets, because the itinerary here is a quick trip to your own backyard. Apartment dwellers should pay close attention too, since the tips in the tutorial work equally well at your neighborhood park or at a close-by nature center..
If you always limit yourself to one specific genre of photography your editing workflow may be pretty well defined. But most shooters have a more eclectic approach to our craft, requiring different processing methods depending up the type of image at hand.
Outdoor photography presents a variety of challenges for shooters of all skill levels. Light is ever changing, composition can be difficult with complicated scenes, and arriving at a proper exposure is difficult when there is a wide range of tones in the frame.