Cameras

For most photographers, Photoshop is one of, if not the primary tool used to make adjustments to digital photos. It’s their darkroom, allowing creativity and correction for mistakes made in, or uncontrollable situations while shooting. Additionally, it can be used to black and white, sepia and other color conversions, selective color, blemish removal and removing red eye. With every release of Photoshop, more tools are available, making the toolbox grow and the editing abilities near endless. That’s not to say every filter and every option should always be used, there are some things that are just a crime in Photoshop.

Saving over your originals is one of the things I’ve always been conscious of not doing, but in talking with other photographers, they apparently do it on a regular basis. Perhaps it comes from a bad habit formed from writing long papers in school and always hitting cmd (ctrl for you Windows folks) + S while writing that translated over to Photoshop for saving while in progress. No matter what, you should never save over your original files!

Upsizing your files is never a good idea, no matter what! Upsizing is a term used when you resize an photo (Image > Image size) to a dimension larger then it was originally shot in, usually for printing. Some printers set a minimum suggested size for larger prints, one that exceeds that of most digital cameras. What I mean is, a Printer might be looking for a preferred digital photo that is 6000 9000 @ 300 DPI for what it would consider an amazing print. By the math, that’s a 54MP camera would be needed! The reality is, most DSLRs on the market 10mp and higher are more than capable of producing stunning 20 30 prints provided the exposure was done well and the ISO isnt’ too high. Don’t ever upsize your photos, all you’ll get is a monstrous file that has no more real data in it, but looks more pixelated.

HDR‘ing photos to death. High Dynamic Range is a wonderful thing, however it’s often over-done and leaves less than pleasing results. If you totally lose the highlight and / or shadow detail, have a glowing effect around any part of the image or it starts to look more like a painting, you are probably abusing the HDR functionality in Photoshop. There is a time and place for HDR, but the over-kill that is showing up on the Internet is not the best use of it.

Photo by Toni_V

Using the erase tool instead of masking is one of the biggest mistakes photographers make while editing. Most photographers have learned to manipulate Photoshop, originally a graphic design tool, and learned on their own how it works. The erase tool makes sense, it simply erases. Utilizing masks takes a bit of understanding but is far more flexible and does far less damage.

Not utilizing smart filters leaves your original file in tact, and editable. Utilizing them in your work-flow is simple and easy to do. Select the layer you want to apply to and go to Filters > Smart Filters and it will convert the layer into a smart object.

Shortcuts in Photoshop are huge time savers and learning them, even the most basic ones, will drastically speed up your work-flow. Most all menu systems in Photoshop tell you the shortcut when you select it with the cursor, but a complete list of all versions of Photoshop (excluding the newly released CS5) can be found here.

Photo by Andrew*

Grayscale is not the best B&W conversion tool available in Photoshop. Many new users of Photoshop convert color photos to black and white via the Image > Mode > Grayscale option. This result is muddy and has no real tonal quality to it. There are far better ways, actions and plugins to help convert your color photos to black and white that will create stunning photos, not muddy, dull and boring black and whites.

Photoshop is an intense program that I honestly don’t think anyone ever masters. That’s not to say you can’t use it to the best of your ability, learn a few things and avoid damaging your images or outputting poor quality work. For me, Photoshop is an ongoing learning process and I’m guilty of making most of these mistakes at least once over the last 12 years or so. Learn, progress, improve and move on.

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Ansel Adams is without a doubt one of the greatest photographers who ever lived. And while he is famous primarily for his haunting landscapes of Yosemite, few people know that he was also a deft hand at counter-propaganda.

In the highly politicised environment of World War 2, Adams took a stand for what he believed was the unjust treatment of interned Japanese Americans. The resulting collection, while published in his book, Born Free and Equal, had limited exposure and circulation due to the politics of the time. Luckily, the collection is one of the few of Ansel Adams’ collections that is in the public domain.

The interesting part about this collection is the choice of subject matter. Note the “typical American” qualities of these photos which were all taken at an internment camp.

A Baseball Game

A Home Scene

Farming Cabbages

Practicing American Football

Girl Playing Volleyball

Painter painting US Landscape Scene

Office Scene

Interred Japanese-American Policeman

Townhall Meeting with American Flag

Adams’ intent to portray the interred Japanese-Americans as typical members of society is inescapable. Baseball, American football, the American flag flying at a town hall meeting subject selection was obviously of primary importance to Adams in shooting these photos. Even the hairstyles and clothing of the people in these shots is typical of American society at the time. The power of such images for getting a point across is undeniable and is made even more potent when the pictures are viewed as a collection. At a time when any depictions of Japanese would have been very slanted towards negative Japanese stereotypes, these pictures were confronting.

Ansel Adams knew the power of photography in social and political discourse. While he may forever remain most famous for his landscapes and skies, it’s always fascinating to note that he could adapt his art to suit the messages he wanted others to see. Check out the entire collection at the Library of Congress.

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Photography is an art, much in the same way painting and sculpting is, however the initial investment to produce art is usually much higher compared to painters or sculptors. Oddly, you rarely hear of a painters saving money to buy the newest, latest and greatest paints, brushes or canvases to take their art to the next level; why should photographers always look into their wallets to produce better photography? Lets explore some ways to improve your photography without spending any more money.

Photo by notsogoodphotography

Utilize the rule of thirds. One of the easiest ways to improve your photography is to frame subjects differently. Rather then placing the subject directly in the middle, move them to the right or left third of the frame, or horizontally to the top or bottom third. This can make a dramatic difference in photographs of the horizon, especially during sunrise or sunset. A great example of how the rule of thirds works is in the photo below where the subjects are both to the right third and to the lower third of the frame, as shown by the window jams.

Photo by Rock Harris

Fill the frame. Don’t be afraid to fill the frame when shooting. There is nothing wrong with not being able to see the background. The portrait shown below is a great example of how filling the frame brings the attention right into the face with no dead space around the subject.

Bokeh. By definition the word bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in an out-of-focus areas of an image. To achieve get this look and add some depth and separation from your subject and the background, set your camera’s lens to the most wide open aperture it has (lower number) and shoot. In the portrait sample below what can only be guessed as city streetlights are shown as orbs of light in the background.

Photo by Mark Sebastian

Utilizing depth of field isn’t only restricted to night photography though, this example taken during the day clearly makes the eye go straight to the writing on the hand while the background remains out of focus, thus creating the desired separation while also utilizing the earlier mentioned rule of thirds. Experiment with choosing the focal point to be near or far away for desired effects and see how you can force the viewers eye to go right where you want it.

Photo by Dotbenjamin

Use the flash when the sun is out. Just because the sun is out doesn’t mean you no longer need the flash. On the contrary, the flash is almost more needed because depending on the location of the sun and the subject matter you are shooting, the shadows created can be really unflattering. Looking at the photo below you’ll notice that the shadow of the child is in front of her, indicating the sun coming from behind and the person holding the camera is looking into the sun. Because the shooter used the flash as a fill, the child’s face is nearly shadow-free and you can see her beautiful eyes and bright smile. Had no flash been used, her face would have been cast in a dark shadow much like what is projected on the sand.

Photo by jim Sneddon

Light trails. This tip requires a tripod but can be done by supporting your camera via other secure methods, such as placing it on a beanbag, or a tube sock filled with rice if you really like DIY. The concept is the same as capturing running water over a waterfall or through a stream, but really tends to yield stunning photos once it’s mastered. The photo below shows red and green lights from traffic going in two different directions, the product of a long exposure. Set your camera up and put it into shutter priority mode, then choose 30 seconds. Push the shutter, then walk away from the camera until it cycles.

Photo by AtomicPuppy68

Obviously choosing your location and time of day will have varying results, as will the time, but most cameras easily support up to 30 seconds without the need for an external cable release. Cars aren’t the only subject that works well for this, use our imagination to capture the twirling lights of a Ferris wheel

Photo by Brandon Godfrey

or even the stars, as seen in this photo that was shot over a period of more then an hour!

Photo by TheDreamSky

Bonus! Read the manual. This one is obvious, but the manual for your specific digital camera has a wealth of knowledge in it. Get to know what all the features and functions of your camera are so you can properly apply them to take better photographs!

Above and beyond all, shoot, take lots of photos. Digital photography has allowed us as photographers the ability to be far more creative then we ever where with film because the incurred costs of buying and processing the film are no longer there. Take your camera with you wherever you go, shoot everything you see, share them with your friends, family and even strangers for feedback and adapt as you learn techniques.

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