3 Ways to Simplify and Learn Photography Faster

By: Rick Berk

It’s not always easy to be a photographer, seeing all of the great photo opportunities around us, and wanting to capture them all. Recently, I was working with a student of mine, and she wanted to know how to handle changing settings quickly from one situation to another.  Her example was trying to go from photographing landscapes, to trying to focus on a bird or other wildlife that may quickly enter the scene. While some seasoned photographers may be ready for a situation such as this, it’s certainly not easy, and for someone just learning, I would argue that it shouldn’t be attempted at all.

#ShutterSpeed#Aperture#ISO

24-120mm, shot at 120mm, 1/160, f/4, ISO 1400. Knowing how the lens behaves at both
ends of the zoom, I knew I could use this lens for wide angle shots in close, but zoom in
as the flower girl was coming down the aisle and still get an interesting shot.

While many of the camera manufacturers want to make photography sound easy (anyone remember “So advanced, it’s simple”?), the fact is, photography is a craft, that despite the advances in technology, takes some time to master. Different photographic situations call for different settings, different lenses, or even a completely different approach to the subject matter. If you’re a hobbyist with only one camera, it can be impossible to be ready for all of the possibilities as they happen.
So here are three ways to keep it simple while you’re learning photography, and stop the overwhelm.

#1 – Focus on one subject at a time

I’m a strong advocate for keeping things simple. First off, if you’re planning to photograph landscapes, wildlife, or portraits, stick with that one goal.  It is easy to get distracted by other subjects that come along. Those opportunities can seem like gold when they pop up, and they can be, but if you’re already set up to shoot a landscape photo at ISO 100, f/16 aperture, and 1/20th shutter speed, quickly switching to settings suitable for capturing a bird in flight is not an easy process. It will likely end in you being frustrated, capturing photos that don’t quite meet your expectations, or worse, don’t come out at all.
Even now, 20-plus years after beginning my photography career, I try not to do too much at once with a camera. I focus on what my goal was when I first decided to pick up the camera and head out. If I’m planning on photographing a landscape at sunset, that’s what I do. The only time I will try to be ready for two separate subjects, is when I have two cameras. For instance, if I’m photographing a landscape, but there are waterfowl nearby and I want to be ready for that, I have a second camera set up with a telephoto lens, so I can grab it and try and get the shot. Even this requires me to at least temporarily put my initial subject, the landscape, aside for a bit.

This shot of the blue heron was taken with a 400mm lens, using continuous AF, and 1/1250 

shutter speed. The image of the waterfall (below), and the image of the great blue heron
(above), were both taken at the same location.  However, for the shot of the waterfall, I
needed to use a neutral density filter to slow down the exposure. There is no way I’d have
been able to remove the filter, and be ready to photograph the heron, even if both shots
could have been captured with the same lens. Not only would my shutter speed have
needed to be drastically faster to stop the flight of the heron, I would also have needed
to use continuous AF to capture its flight sharply, while I always use one-shot AF when
photographing landscapes.

Knowing there may be wildlife nearby, I mounted a Nikon 80-400mm lens on one camera 

(on a strap on my shoulder), while I had a second camera with a shorter lens, set up on a tripod to capture the waterfalls. If I only had one camera, I would have needed to choose between one subject or the other, and then move on. Rare is the occasion when you can jump so quickly from one subject to a completely different one using only one camera.

This shot was taken with a 16mm lens, using one-shot AF, and a 0.6 second shutter speed.

If you’re working with only one camera, don’t try to do too much.  Pick one subject and work that until you feel you’ve accomplished what you wanted, then move on to another subject. Yes, it’s difficult to be set up to catch a sunset and watch a beautiful snowy egret land nearby and start fishing, leaving you itching to try and catch it, but chances are it will fly away again while you’re still fiddling with your settings. Meanwhile, the sun is still setting, the color is fading, and you’ve likely missed a shot or two there as well.

#2 – Use only one lens

Back when I took my first photo course in college, my professor was adamant that each student use only a 50mm lens. I didn’t understand why at the time, but I do now. It’s important to understand how your lenses behave, so you’ll know which one is right for the job. As photographers, many of us become gear collectors, always wanting another lens, to allow us to photograph the way we saw another photographer do it. But before you start collecting lenses, it’s important to recognize what each lens can do for you, and to truly understand that, you’ve got to use each lens extensively.

Using a wide angle lens, I was able to emphasize the ice in the foreground, while pushing the
bridge to the background at the top center of the frame.

I currently have seven camera lenses in my kit right now. At any given time, there may be four or 

five in my camera bag when I’m out photographing, depending on what my planned subject is, or what contingencies I want to be ready for. But, as usually happens, it’s rare that most of those lenses will see the outside of my bag once I get where I’m going. While each situation is different, I often find that one lens will usually handle what I want to do when I get to a location. So unless it’s one of those rare times when a situation calls for both a telephoto and a wide angle look, usually only one of those lenses gets mounted on the camera. While in the above example I broke this rule and used two cameras with two different lenses, that is not usually the norm for me.
When you pull your camera out of the bag next time and select lens to use, stick with that one lens. Really get to know it. If it’s a zoom, shoot at only one end of it. The next time you use it, use the other end. Learn how to make that lens really sing. Find out what it’s really good for, and what it’s not good at. Do this with every lens you own, if you own more than one. When it comes time to purchase new glass, you’ll have a much better understanding of where your kit comes up short, and what you need to buy. In addition, you’ll also be building on my first point, focusing on one subject. Too often, new photographers miss opportunities because they are busy changing lenses because they think they need one over another. If changing lenses is not an option, you won’t waste time with it, and can focus on making great photos with whichever lens you find on your camera.

Telephoto lenses compress perspective. Want to make the sun or moon look really big in
relation to a building or structure? Back away from your subject a bit and use a telephoto
lens to compress  the perspective and distort the size relationship.

In the two images shown above, the same bridge can be found in both, and both shots were 

taken from roughly the same spot. One was taken with a 16mm lens, and the other, with a telephoto lens at 290mm. Wide angle lenses expand perspective, emphasizing the foreground and pushing background objects back, while telephoto lenses minimize foreground and tend to flatten perspective. Using only one focal length will also help you to compose more effective images. Zooms can at times make you lazy. Zooming from a wide angle to a telephoto lens changes the image profoundly, and it’s important to understand what effect that can have on your image.
Telephoto lenses compress perspective, while wide angle lenses enhance it, and each perspective communicates something different to the viewer. There are reasons to use both wide and telephoto lenses, but only working with them extensively will help you recognize the situations where each is most effective.

#3 – Don’t accessorize

Shot at 16mm, f/16, 15 seconds, ISO 64. I simplified my composition down to two elements, 

the reflection in the foreground, and the lighthouse in the background. Knowing the lighthouse 

would be there regardless of where I stood or how I zoomed, I focused on getting the
reflection right, and letting the rest of the composition fall into place. One of the great things
about digitalphotography, and today’s technology, is the many cool new tools available to help
with yourpicture-taking endeavors. It’s great to be able to connect to a camera from your
smartphone,and do things such as time lapse or long exposures, but often times, these
accessories are one more thing that can go wrong, or distract you from actually taking photos.

There are only three accessories that I use regularly. One is a time controller that plugs into my camera directly, second is a tripod, and finally, a set of neutral density and graduated neutral density filters, used to help control exposure. I didn’t even begin using the filters until a few years ago, more than 15 years into my photography career. Both images below used nothing more than a remote shutter release. In the case of the Milky Way image, on the right, I set my camera to manual for a 15 second exposure and used the remote release as I would the shutter button, simply to avoid touching the camera. For the image on the left of the star trails, while that becomes a bit more complicated in processing, in reality, it’s just a lot of 30-second exposures. I simply set my camera to continuous drive, and locked the shutter button on the remote down. Simple.

Even for images such as these, the only accessory I used was a time controller, with only the 

shutter button locked down.It’s important, when learning photography, to focus on the
basics – aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, and understand how they affect your images.
It’s too easy to get caught up in all the bells and whistles and how cool they are, and forget
that the end result is what matters. In my mind, if the accessory isn’t contributing in a way
that affects the final image, then I don’t need to use it. I’m not saying that accessories are
bad, or even unnecessary, but if you aren’t sure how to achieve a proper exposure yet, put
off purchasing that shiny new toy, and really learn your camera.

I would even advise you to stay away from the special modes on your camera, such as HDR, 

or star trails mode (I do that manually in post-production), or multiple exposure mode. Yes, 

they can look cool, and do great things, but again, understanding the basics of exposure is 

paramount. If you don’t understand basic exposure, using the bells and whistles won’t help 

you make music.
I find that simplifying the process as much as possible helps me come away with the best 

images possible. What do you do to help simplify your photographic process?

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How to Edit and Retouch Images Using Capture One Pro

By: Carl Spring

#Captureone#Retouching#LumaMask

Whilst we all flock to Photoshop for our retouching, Capture One now has a lot of great tools. But is it possible to do a full image edit including retouching? More so, if it is, should you do it and avoid Photoshop altogether?
To find out, I closed Photoshop and settled myself down for a full edit using only Capture One Pro. Lets go through the process and see what I learnt.

Annotate

Capture One’s built-in annotation tools make it easy to plan your retouching for your images. A variety of colors can easily be added to the image should you wish. I really like this tool. It allows you to make simple notes on screen. While it may look like I am practicing my abstract expressionism, I am actually highlighting what I want to improve. In this case, the red is for retouching and yellow is for exposure issues. I love this tool! So far so good.

The annotate tool is great for making notes before you start the edit.

Colour balance

When the image comes into Capture One, the first thing is to get a good neutral color balance. I always start by letting Capture One get me into the ballpark via the Auto tool in White Balance. While not perfect, it gives a good starting point.  I then tweak the color to taste. In most cases, it is only a small tweak from the auto white balance to get a starting point I am happy with.

Exposure

Continuing with the basics, next up is exposure. It always pays to get as close as you can in-camera, and this case required very little. For this image, I pushed up the exposure just under 0.5 stops and added a slight amount of contrast and saturation to my taste. All that was left was a slight highlight recovery to take away the worst of the hot spots. The worst highlights will be taken care of in the next step (and first layer) Luma masking.

Layer One: Luma Mask

New in Capture One 12 is Luma masking. I love this tool! It is such a great time saver for masking highlights. I use it here to mask out the highest highlights in the image and then use the High Dynamic Range sliders to pull back the highlights. Subtly is the key here. I only want to take the harshness out of the bright spots.

Possibly my favourite tool in Capture One 12. The Luma mask

Layer two (and three and four): Blemish Retouching

Trying to do any amount of blemish retouching in Capture One soon tells you that it wasn’t designed for this task. The system is clunky. You sample using the alt key (the same way as Photoshop); however, you cannot resample a different area on the same layer. Instead, you need to create a new layer and a new sample. I ended up using 3 layers merely to do basic spot removal (and this wasn’t even going as far as I would in Photoshop). Capture One isn’t effective for any serious blemish removal. I tried this process out on another image to see if it fared better, but it was worse. It got to the point where I just gave up. Yes, it works for simple items, but in the future, blemishes will be worked on in Photoshop only.

Layer five: Skin smoothing

The Skin Smoothing tool is a super-great way to improve skin with a simple mask and a couple of sliders. I use this tool all the time when editing wedding photography. It gives a great effect with such little effort.
The first step is to create a mask using a new layer and the Brush tool. Make sure you leave out areas of detail, such as the eyes and lips. You can then refine the mask to get it more accurate. I tend to use a number between 100-150 for most situations. After this, I go back in with the brush and erase tools until I am happy with the mask. A little tip here is to change the mask color from the default of red when working with people. It just makes the mask stand out more against the skin.
Next, the special sauce. A.K.A The Clarity tool. Just go to the clarity section, choose Natural as the clarity type and slide the numbers into the negatives. I generally find the sweet spot for this technique to be between -60 to -70. Much more than this and it can become a little fake. It comes down to the image you are working on. Simply adjust the sliders until you are happy with the result.
This on its own has a massive difference on the image, but when you add in the Color Editor tool, it takes this to another level.

Layer five continued: Skin Colour

The ability to work with color so precisely is one of Capture One’s greatest strengths. Editing skin tone is a great way to make your model’s skin glow. You can find this tool located in the Color Editor section. To start, click the icon and sample a skin tone. Next, you work with the two sections of this tool, Amount and Uniformity. The amount sliders are to get a skin tone that you are happy with. You then move onto the uniformity sliders to even out the skin tone through the whole face. As with much retouching, it is easy to go over the top. My tip for this is to do the edit, then take a break for a couple of minutes and come back. You instantly see if the image is over done and you can dial back accordingly.
We now have an even, soft skin tone through the image. This layer has made a huge difference to our image. It’s now time to finesse the details.

As you can see, the combination of the clarity slider and the Skin colour editor has really
made a difference. The blue mask, maybe not so flattering.

Layer six: Teeth

The teeth need to be slightly whitened. This is as simple as a mask, followed by reducing the saturation. Again, don’t take it down to zero – it will look weird. Take it down just enough so that the teeth look naturally white. In this image, the sweet spot was -51. I then pushed the exposure just slightly to give a whiter smile. But again, as with all retouching, less is more.

Layer seven: Eyes

You sense a theme yet? I created another mask for the eyes. This time I added a very slight bump in exposure and some clarity to give them a subtle pop that was missing before.

Layer eight: The top

The red top the model wore in this shoot was just too bright. Using a combination of a mask and the color editor, I was able to easily reduce the red tone to something less overpowering.

Toning down the red top means it is not quite as powerful in the image.

Layers nine and ten: The Hair

As the old saying goes; in for a penny, in for a pound. Having worked on the heal and clone layers for basic spot removal, this was going to be something that I was unsure would work. However, with a lot of trial and error, I produced something that was okay. Would I do it again? No. But, I did manage to improve the hair significantly from the previous state.
I ended up using a clone layer for one side of the hair and a heal layer for the other. Again, editing like this shows the limitations of Capture One for high-end retouching. However, after some trial and error, it did an okay job.

Layer eleven: Colour Grade

I generally don’t color grade images heavily – if at all. I usually prefer a natural look. But for this tutorial, I added a color grade. To do this, you add a new fill layer and add your grading there. This also allows you to reduce the effect by opacity or simply turn it on or off quickly to give different looks.
For this image, I decided to use Capture One’s excellent film grain emulations to add some soft grain. Next, I spent some time with the Color Balance tools pulling the shadows into the blues and highlights slightly into the orange. Finally, I used the levels to give a slightly faded look to the final color grade. That’s it. It’s done!

The final edit.

What did I learn?

Well, it is possible to do a full retouch in Capture One. However, in reality, it is clunky and nowhere near as powerful as Photoshop.
The worst part of this was the blemish removals. It was painful to use for more than a couple of blemishes in an image. Also when trying this on another image to remove an eyelash, it was impossible to get it to give a pleasing result.
The standout of this edit is a process I use all the time: the Skin Smoothing and Skin Color combination. These two tools can quickly take care of many skin problems you may see. As a wedding photographer, this is a powerful tool. I can make a bride’s skin look glowing, quickly and easily without the need to round trip to Photoshop. To give you an example, check out this before and after using only this combination. You can achieve quick, simple and powerful results in just a couple of minutes.

Such a vast improvement only using two tools.

Conclusion

In general, the color tools in Capture One are amazing, and as well as working well on the skin, they were great for color grading the final image. My regular workflow for an image like this would be a trip to Photoshop for the skin, then back into Capture One for color grading.
Overall, Capture One did give a good final result, but at the cost of time and with some frustration.
Can Capture One Pro do a full edit with retouching? It can – kind of.
Would I recommend it? No.
It’s just not quite precise enough to be able to use regularly for this type of edit. That skin trick though is gold!

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Pros an Cons of Shooting Alone Versus Being a Group Photographer?

By: Simon Bond

An age-old question in life, not just photography, is are you a pack animal or a lone ranger? Everyone reading this will have their own answer to this question, it’s not even a black and white answer. In this article, the question posed is whether you shoot alone or are more of a group photographer?
Let’s take a look at the two different approaches to doing photography, and then compare them to see which one is better. Whether one is better is really just subjective, but depending on your favored form of photography you’ll certainly have a preference.

#Photo#Photographing Solo#PhotographingGroup

Joining other photographers is great, although they sometimes get in your shot!

Photographing solo

The preference for many photographers is to photograph alone. There are a lot of good reasons why this is best, so let’s take a look at a few of them:

• Get into the zone – To achieve the best photos, being distracted by others is rarely a recipe for success. Photographers will often get into a zone where a heightened sense of the environment around them will lead to better photos.
• Set your own schedule – When you visit a place, and how long you spend there are very important factors in photography. Whether you’re a street photographer waiting for that perfect moment, or a landscape shooter photographing blue hour, the schedule matters.
• Choose where to visit – Equally important, and related to the point above is where you choose to visit and shoot. Even if you travel with a fellow photographer, they may well want to visit a different place to suit their style of photography. Shooting alone allows you to be totally focused on your goal.

Photographing alone is the favored choice of many photographers, it helps you get more
in the zone.

• Get your own angle – There will never be another photographer standing in the way of your composition when you photograph alone. Equally, you don’t need to worry about getting in the way of someone else, or getting to the best angle second.
• Curate your own photo –  Those who do portrait photography will know that creative control of the pose and position of your model are key. As is forming a close working relationship with your model. When photographing without other photographers these things are easier to achieve.
• Learn from your own mistakes – You’ll make mistakes along the way, even those with experience do. It might mean adding to your knowledge after you have made your mistake, but the next time you photograph this self-improvement will take you up a level.

The chance to work one to one with a model means you can work on your own concepts
and ideas.

Photographing with a group

Of course, sharing your photography with others has some drawbacks, but there are also a lot of positives to photographing with other people. So whether you’re a solo or group photographer take a look at this list, and decide for yourself if you can benefit from joining a group, even if only occasionally.

• Share your experience – The act of exploring and seeing a new place is often more pleasurable when you have company. You may even be able to model for each other if the location would be better enhanced with a person in the scene.
• Pool your resources – Photography can be expensive when it comes to equipment, model hire, and location rental. These costs can be cut considerably by joining forces with other photographers.
• Share knowledge – One of the very best ways to learn about photography is from other photographers, that’s why you’re here right? Whether you’re experienced or new to photography you’ll find everyone can offer advice or tips that could improve your work.

Joining a group of photographer allows you to dip into their pool of knowledge.

• Safety – Carrying an expensive piece of camera gear? Heading out late at night for some photography? Having a few people with you when you photograph makes it a lot safer.
• Collaborations – To create a group project, you need a group! So getting to know some fellow photographers will facilitate this. Likewise, photographing a model often takes more than one person, sharing duties to hold the light stand helps a lot.
• Share your photos – Groups of photographers often share their work either each other. Sharing your photos is a great way to improve your photography, as you often get feedback on the photos you have shared.

This group of photographers was on a photo walk which I organized.

This is a photo taken on that photo walk, it was later shared with the participants through
social media.

Being a solo or group photographer, which is best?

There are lots of pros and cons for shooting alone or with a group of photographers. The best answer is to make time to do both. Join a group perhaps once a week, and photograph by yourself on other occasions.
The genre of photography you do will also have a big impact on your choice, portrait photographers using strobes often need a team. On the other hand, if you’re a landscape or street photographer photographing alone may be best.
There is a middle solution though. The group doesn’t have to be large, perhaps only two or three. When all the photographers share the same interest, it can be just like photographing alone, only you have a group.

Are you a solo or group photographer? Why not be both? My friend and fellow dPS writer
Pete DeMarco is someone with whom I’ve often photographed. We allowed each
other enough space to photograph “alone” but then meet later after we’re done shooting.

Myself and Pete enjoy taking cityscape photos, so meeting up to do the same style of
photography makes sense.

What kind of group should you join?

There are plenty of types of groups that you can join if you’re interested in meeting some new people. Not all of them even require you to meet other photographers in person, we do after all live in a digital global age. So let’s take a look at a few possibilities.

• Attend a photo walk – These are often one-off events and can involve large crowds. They’re great for meeting a lot of new faces, not always so good for taking the best photo. A very well known event like this is Scott Kelby’s worldwide photo walk, held once a year. An alternative idea to a photo walk is a potluck photography party, why not try it out?

This steel wool fire spinning photography event was organized by a photography club.

• Join a photo club – A great way to meet other photographers on a regular basis, and therefore learn from them. Groups like this often organize photography outings or perhaps hire a model for the club members to work with and photograph.
• Online communities – In reading and participating with this website you are part of a photography community. Even though not in person, participating online is a great way to gain knowledge. There is always the possibility of travel as well, you can meet people on a trip perhaps.
• Take part in a workshop – Meeting other photographers on a workshop is a great way to socialize, and learn at the same time.

Joining a group of photographer allows you to share the cost of hiring a model. It also
means you lose control of pose and position. You also need to avoid getting into each other’s
photos.

Are you a solo or a group photographer?

So which kind of photographer are you? A solo or a group photographer? Are there any other reasons why you like to photograph alone, or in a group?
If you photograph alone, why not reach out to a group and become part of a community. Although it’s nice to photograph alone, there is a raft of benefits to joining up with others. You’ll likely make some new friends, the type you can form a close friendship with through a shared interest.

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7 Ways To Take Your Photography To The Next Level

By: Kav Dadfar

It easy to stagnate as a photographer. It’s a lonely hobby where you often work alone spending hours in pursuit of one photo which may not materialize. You can begin to lose interest and become lazy. This loss of interest can manifest itself in your photos which, in turn, demoralizes you further. As with many hobbies, the great thing about photography is you can reignite your passion. So here are 7 ways to take your photography to the next level.
#TravelPhotographer#Portraits#PhotographingFood

1. Photograph Something Different

One of the things many photographers are guilty of doing is photographing the same things over and over again. If you did the same thing again and again, eventually you’d get fed up with it. So, a great way to boost your passion for photography is to photograph something completely different. For example, if you are a travel photographer, spend some time photographing wildlife. If you take portraits, start photographing food.
Not only will this help reignite your passion, but it can also add more skills to your repertoire. You never know, you may find a new passion you never knew you had.

2. Work On a Brief

Remember when you were at school and had to work on projects set by the teacher? It required you to learn about the subject, think about it and create a piece of work to present to your teacher. The concept of working on a brief is the same. You are given a topic or subject to photograph, and you take photos that answer the brief.
The project could be anything from a simple task of documenting a local event, to photographing a remote tribe in another country. Many people who take up photography as a hobby take photos of things that they come across rather than a specific brief. Working on a brief can help focus your photography and make you think about things differently.
Ask a friend or family member to set you a brief. It could be on anything. After you receive the brief, go about creating a set of images that respond to it.

3. Set Yourself a Challenge

Another way to improve your photography is to set yourself challenges. These can help diversify your portfolio. For example, you may have lots of photos but are missing some nice close-ups. So, set yourself a challenge to capture one close-up image every day. Perhaps you have a weakness in a specific area of photography? Set yourself a challenge to improve that one element.
If you are a shy person and struggle to approach people to take their photo, set yourself a challenge to photograph ten people in one day. You’ll be surprised how much more confident you feel after doing so.

4. Read, Watch, Follow

One of the best ways to improve your photography is to be inspired by photographers whose work you admire. Follow photographers on social media whose work inspires you. Look at the work of the masters like Ansel Adams, Steve McCurry, and Robert Capa. Read books such as the ‘Bang Bang Club‘ and watch documentaries and movies about photography. Even flicking through photography books or magazines can help inspire you. However, remember the objective should be to be inspired, not copy someone else’s work.

5. Get a Photo Buddy

Photography is usually an isolated hobby and can be difficult to judge how well you are doing. Having someone who shares your passion can help motivate you while also giving you someone to bounce ideas off. You can learn from one another and push each other to capture better images. If you don’t know anyone who has a passion for photography, join your local camera club where you can meet likeminded individuals.

6. Rent or Buy a Film Camera

There is no doubt that cameras are better and more powerful than they have ever been. You’ll find it hard finding many photographers who still shoot in film.
Still, one negative of digital photography is that it makes the decision of taking photos easy. Back in the days of film, every single photo you took cost money. Meaning, you had to be sure of what you were photographing to avoid wasting money. So you didn’t waste money, you had to think a lot harder about a scene. You had to think about your settings and if it was an interesting subject. You didn’t have the luxury of looking at the picture on the back of your camera.
Try it out. Rent film camera for a day, or buy a second-hand one, and see if it makes you think differently about photography.

7. Go On a Photo Tour

Photo tours are quite common these days. Tours usually entail going to a country and touring it with the purpose of capturing photos. Ranging from a few days to weeks, tours are one of the best ways to boost your photography. You are away with likeminded individuals who share your passion, and you are joined by a professional photographer who can help you with your photographic weaknesses.
Nevertheless, arguably the most significant benefit of a photo tour is you are immersed in photography every day for weeks. If you keep practicing and doing something for hours every day, it’s natural for you to become better at it. So, if you haven’t tried a photo tour or workshop, give it go. It could be the best way to boost your photography skills and passion.

Like any other hobby or profession, you need to continually challenge yourself, set goals and have the motivation to create great photos. Sometimes that comes naturally, like when you are heading to a fantastic destination. At other times you have to make an effort to push yourself to be able to take your photography to the next level. The above tips should help you on your way, but ultimately it is down to you to push yourself.

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Simple Yet Unique Ways to Add Creativity into Your Photos

By: Karthika Gupta

A lot of us get into a creative rut when it comes to winter time or gets into a winter slump! For some, the start of a new year means new goals and new resolutions which also means trying out everything that they possibly can.  If you are like me, and always love looking for new and creative ways to push yourself further or merely interested in just trying out a new technique, here are some tips. Without breaking the bank of course!

#1 Experiment with double exposures or even triple exposures

#Doubleexposures#Tripleexposures#Shooting 

Three exposures to indicate multiple personalities of people for an editorial photoshoot.

I own a Canon Mark III and doing double exposures is relatively easy.
You can find the drop-down menu from the main menu screen. Select multiple exposures and then select the number of exposures you want. Get creative with 2, 3, or 4 exposures.
Try shooting the next few frames in live view to see how your images overlap. You can get that cool multiple exposure effect.

#2 Creative images with slow shutter with intention

The use of a slow shutter speed in landscapes is common. However, try bringing that in with portraits or even your everyday lifestyle photos. There are many unique ways you experiment with slow shutter speeds:

1. Have a subject stand still while everything else is moving in the frame. You can do this with self-portraits, outdoor scenes or even with clients. Keep your shutter speed at 1/50th or even 1/80th. If it drops below that, you might get motion blur even if you are as still as possible.
2. Use a flowing dress or a scarf to indicate movement by using a slow shutter.
3. Slow shutter speed shows the movement in the frame. If you use it intentionally to tell a story within your frame, it’ll be your best friend! Shutter speed is powerful. When we are so used to using it always set high to freeze movement, especially with kids running around, the opposite can have a different effect when used intentionally.

If you are super-brave, try combining double exposures with slow shutter speed.
You have just opened up a whole new way to get out of a creative rut and spend hours ‘playing’ with your gear. Yes, we all know some of us really don’t need that! We can spend hours with our gear anyway!
Remember there is no right or wrong here, and experimentation is always for fun. If you get it right, you know what to do next time, and if you think it didn’t turn out the way you like, well you know what not to do next time!

Slowing down the shutter to capture a ghostly effect on the waves and the fog that rolled in.

A slightly unintentional slow shutter speed moment but I love this image of the young monk
running.

#3 Try using objects to shoot through

This is one of my favorite techniques when I want to try something new. I don’t know about you, but I crave the creative freedom to experiment – even if they end up being a fail sometimes.
I always find I learn something new when I experiment with techniques, tools and even photography subjects. One of my favorite ways to experiment is by shooting through various objects.
Here are a few options:

• A fabric cloth
• Shooting through glass or a window
• Glass cube or prism
• Bubble wrap
• Twinkle lights
• Leaves
• Plastic colorful flowers

Your creativity is only limited to your imagination.

This was using fake flowers and I love the light leak effect here, almost similar to old film
cameras.

This was more intentional where I was behind a bush and decided to shoot through the
leaves.

#4 Free lensing

Why not step out of your comfort zone and experiment with a little free-lensing?
Free-lensing is a technique where you disconnect the lens from the camera and use the viewfinder and manual focus to photograph.
I will caution, that depending on the size and weight of your lens, this is a bit difficult to maneuver. Also, be careful not to drop your lens! I would recommend you try this with a lightweight lens or an older lens that you are not too attached. Free-lensing works best with manual focus.
Free-lensing adds much creativity to photos because:

1. It truly helps you let go of the perfection and you begin to appreciate the beauty in simplicity
2. If you love dreamy images that tell a story
3. It helps you with your storytelling

#5 Creative photography projects

Dedicated photography projects are a great way to force yourself to photograph consistently. Sometimes it is committing to photographing every day for a year.
Alternatively, it could be something like a weekly theme.
Both are great ways to channel your creative energy.
Doing something every day is one of the easiest ways to get good at it. Shooting every day is something every photographer can do to get better and better at their craft.
It doesn’t have to be stressful or take laborious effort. You don’t have to worry about models and outfits. Instead, focus on the techniques – shoot at different times of the day, shoot in different lighting conditions, use still objects or moving subjects likes kids and pets, or practice motion blur. The possibilities are endless.
Think outside the box and do something different every day. Maybe even start an exercise like a 365 project (one photograph every day for a year). Soon enough you will find that you are not only better at the technical parts of photography but the creative aspects as well.

I love photographing horses at the barn we visit and often times challenge myself to get
action shots with just my iPhone – this was with the burst mode

This is another personal project of capturing sunrise and sunsets just with my iPhone.
I love the two runners who happened to come in the middle. Rather than waiting for
them to pass, I used them as a creative subject here.

#6 Try a new genre

Trying a new genre helps you reconnect with the basics of photography without the pressures of trying to be perfect at it. Sometimes we get in a creative rut because we are doing the same thing over and over again. If this is you, perhaps try another genre of photography.
I recently took a class on food photography. I am a terrible cook and always thought that food photographers have to be fantastic cooks to not only cook the food but also photograph it.
However, my instructor was super nice and let us in on a secret – store-bought cheesecake is just as good as homemade, and no-one knows the difference. The basics and rules of photography apply to across genres. So go ahead and give yourself permission to experience and experiment with something new to you.

I hope these tips help you add a little bit of fun, creatively and freshness to your photography. Remember, always keep learning and trying something new to keep the fun element front and center of everything that you do.
Do you have other creative tips you’d like to share in the comments below?

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Thoughts and Field Test of the Fujifilm X-H1 Camera

By: Suzi Pratt

This spring, the Fujifilm X-H1 was released to the masses. It’s touted as the company’s camera with the most video features to date, even topping the popular X-T2. As long-time owners of the Fujifilm X-Pro2, my husband and I jumped on the X-H1 bandwagon early, sending in our preorder the day it was announced.
Our main intention was to use it to support our new venture into videography. In the short couple of months that we’ve been shooting with the Fujifilm X-H1, we’ve found it to be not only a superior camera for video but for still photography as well.
Here are our thoughts so far. This camera is most comparable to the Fujifilm X-T2, which is already a respectable video performer. We don’t have the X-T2 but will make some comparisons to the X-Pro2 that we do have.

#Fujifilm#X-H1#X-Pro2

Key Specs

• First announced in February 2018
• 24-megapixel X-Trans APS-C sensor
• 5-axis in-body image stabilization (IBIS)
• Touchscreen rear LCD with 2-axis tilt
• 3.69M-dot OLED viewfinder
• DCI and UHD 4K video capture at up to 200 Mbps
• Slow motion 1080p (from 120 and 100 fps)
• Internal F-log capture
• New film simulation – Eterna
• 24-bit audio capture
• Timecode
• Dual UHS-II compatible SD card slots
• Anti-flicker shooting mode
• Built-in Wi-Fi with Bluetooth
• Currently priced at $1899 USD for body-only; $2199 when bundled with the VPB-XH1 vertical battery grip.

What’s New?

Physical Body

Compared to most other Fujifilm cameras, such as the X1ooF and X-Pro2, the X-H1 is much bulkier, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Much of the bulk comes from the camera’s larger hand grip and buttons, making it much easier to carry the camera.
The X-H1 also ads an AF-On button for those who prefer using back-button autofocus. It also has top-panel LCD similar to a DSLR. In practice, the top-panel LCD seems unnecessary, especially since it takes the place of the Exposure Compensation dial that is present on the X-Pro2 and X-T2.

New Quiet Shutter Mechanism

This is among our favorite features of the X-H1: its shutter is whisper-quiet, offering a soft yet audible click when a photo is taken.
Not only is the shutter quiet, it also allows the camera to offer an Electronic First Curtain (EFC) shutter mode. EFC allows you to reduce the risk of shutter shock without increasing the risk of rolling shutter.

5-Axis In-Body-Stabilization (IBIS)

For videomakers, in-camera stabilization is key for helping capture smooth footage. The X-H1 is Fujifilm’s first camera to include IBIS and right off the bat, we’re impressed with its performance.
When activated and used with an image-stabilized lens, capturing smooth hand-held video footage is easier than ever before. As an added bonus, IBIS also helps you shoot still photos at low shutter speeds.

Improved Video Performance

Although based on the same sensor and processor as the X-T2, the Fujifilm X-H1 boasts significantly improved video features. Shooting options have been extended to include DCI 4K and UHD 4K shooting. If you’re unfamiliar with the two terms, here’s a quick summary. DCI (short for Digital Cinema Initiatives) 4K is 4096 x 2160, while UHD (Ultra High Definition) 4K is 3840 x 2160. For videos winding up on YouTube or TV, UHD is fine. But for videos that will be projected in theaters, DCI 4K is a better choice.
The X-H1 also allows for recording F-log footage internally. In video-terms, shooting in log format is like shooting in RAW. Your log footage tends to be less saturated and less detailed so that you can color grade (post-process) the video footage to your liking later. F-log made its debut on the X-T2, but it could only be done via an external recorder. The X-H1 is Fujifilm’s first camera that allows for the recording of F-log directly to an SD card in 4K.
Another vital video feature making its Fujifilm debut on the X-H1 is 120 fps slow motion video. It can only be recorded at full HD, but the slow-motion video quality has been stellar, especially when paired with IBIS.

New Eterna Film Simulation

Fujifilm has long been known for their excellent color reproduction, even back in the days of film photography. Thankfully, that is passed down in Fujifilm digital cameras in the form of film simulation modes. They’re similar to the color profiles offered in digital cameras from Canon, Nikon, and Sony.
Until recently, Fujifilm had six unique film simulation modes on its cameras: Provia, Velvia, Astia, Classic Chrome, PRO-Neg STD, and PRO Neg HI. The X-H1 is the first camera to ship with Fujifilm’s seventh film simulation, Eterna.
Designed for videographers, Eterna is characterized by more muted, subdued colors and rich shadow tones. Our observations so far are that Eterna is designed for further color grading in post-production, and also to attract the video viewer’s eye to the action in the scene and away from the rest of the frame.

What could be improved

One of many things to love about Fujifilm is that they really listen to their customers. Kaizen firmware updates are frequent and they add useful features that build on the cameras. Here are a few things we’d like to see rolled out in firmware updates, or in the next version of the X-H1.
Physically, the chunky handgrips and the bigger buttons are appreciated for improved ergonomics. However, the missing exposure compensation dial is a big disappointment. Also, the rear LCD having only a two-axis tilt is limiting; it needs to be able to fully swivel to appeal to the vloggers and also make it easier to shoot from different angles.
Finally, battery life and video recording limits on this camera leave much to be desired. The X-H1 limits 4K video recording to 15-minute clips. This can be extended to about 29 minutes of shooting in 4K if you use the optional battery grip. However, the battery grip adds lots of bulk to the camera, making it less pleasant to shoot with.

Hopefully, Fujifilm will take a cue from Sony and their new NP-FZ100 battery, which arguably is the best-performing battery for mirrorless cameras at the moment.

In Conclusion

The Fujifilm X-H1 is the first of a new line of cameras that make the bold statement that Fujifilm is a viable alternative for videomakers. This camera builds on the already credible video features of the X-T2 by taking it a step further with the addition of features such as Eterna film simulation and 5-axis IBIS. If you’re a serious video maker, keep an eye on the X-H series. It will only improve more with each new release.
Overall Rating: 9/10
To hear more about our experience with the X-H1 and how it compares to the X-Pro2, check out the video below featuring the main Fujifilm shooter of the two of us: my husband Martin.

Fujifilm X-H1 Review Compared to the X-Pro2

Here's your free photography e-book: Introduction to External Flash. Just click to open it up and start reading. Enjoy!
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Good Photos in Bad Light eBook (Free)

I just created a free eBook over at Visual Wilderness about tips and techniques for making good photos in bad light. Click on the photo below if you are interested in downloading the eBook.
Note: Visual Wilderness is no longer active, to get the ebook please go to this link:

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