3 Top Cell Phone Photography Apps (Android or iOS)

By: Glenn Harper

One of the nice things about photography is that you don’t need an expensive camera or exotic lenses to produce good photos. Although such gear ensures the best image quality, to some degree that need has been nullified by the way today’s photos are shared. When viewed on a high-res smartphone or tablet, the technical imperfections of a phone image all but vanish. Cell phone photography is as legitimate as any other form of photography. Or is it?

In recent years, as the Internet has grown in power and influence, cell phone photography has become widely accepted by picture libraries and agencies. A huge market exists for web pictures, and it doesn’t always take DSLRs or even compact cameras to supply it. After inheriting an iPhone a few months back, and acquainting myself with various apps, I began sending phone photos to picture libraries.
When it comes to cellphone photos, libraries are surprisingly open-minded about the use of filters and effects. A conservative approach to editing is not necessary and may even be unhelpful. This article looks at three of the apps I use most for preparing images: MIX, PS Express, and Snapseed. Any of these three allows basic manual adjustments of color and tone. So instead of attempting repetitive in-depth reviews of all three, I aim to show you some of their individual features.

The opening screens of MIX by Camera360, Adobe PS Express and Snapseed by Google.
All three are available for iOS or Android phones.

MIX by Camera360

MIX is filter-oriented with 100+ free filters and some in-app purchases. Of course, it also lets you make straight edits to your pictures (e.g. brightness, saturation, contrast, sharpness, spot removal). I’ve always liked presets and filters. If other photographers know exactly what they’re going to do with every photo, I’m not one of them. Sometimes it’s fun to try out different stuff and hit a few buttons.

Cine Filters

When you want to apply a color cast to an image, the Cine filters in MIX work well. They have various effects, including warm-up, cooling, and a classic orange & teal combo for movie-style color contrast (try Googling “orange and teal photography” to discover more). Using these filters is a bit like tuning the temp and tint sliders in Lightroom. They affect the white balance of the image.

This orange (warm-up) and teal look is similar to an effect used in modern movies and
comes from one of several Cine filters in MIX.

Slide Film Filters

As my photography predates the digital age, filters that imitate last-generation slide films appeal to me. I can’t testify as to their accuracy, but if I want a deep blue sky or just a bit more punch in color and contrast, MIX gives me an easy solution.

These deep-blue skies were achieved with the Fuji Velvia Slide Film filters in MIX and are
true to the effect often seen in Velvia transparencies.

Holiday Sky Filters

Being an old-school slide shooter (or old at any rate), I struggle with the idea of grafting new skies onto photos, but then photography rarely tells the whole truth. MIX offers a range of Holiday Sky filters that might just rescue disappointing photos. To make artificial skies seem realistic, you must take notice of how the light falls in your photo and make sure it doesn’t blatantly conflict with the new background. There’s also a MIX “Magic Sky” filter series for more dramatic effects.

Sky grafting might be anathema for some, but Holiday Sky filters in MIX make it easy to
replace a dull sky.

Adobe PS Express

As a long-time user of Photoshop, I tried PS Express hoping for a level of familiarity. I wasn’t disappointed. You can adjust photos using the same editing sliders found in other Adobe products: much of the toolbox seems intact.

Transform

If you shoot architectural photos, one of the best things about PS Express is its ability to easily correct the verticals and/or horizontals of a building. This avoids the “falling over” effect you get when pointing a camera at architecture. It helps if you leave space around the building when photographing it, otherwise, the transform tool will slice the edges off it.

The verticals in this photo of Florence were corrected with the Transform tool in PS Express.

Filters

PS Express has a decent selection of filters. I’m fond of the ones that apply a vignette, such as Basic/Autumn or B&W/pinhole. These give photos a sense of drama, and like all vignettes focus attention on the middle of the photo. You can give your photos a lot of mood with these filters.

The PS Express B&W Pinhole filter focuses attention on the face of this effigy in Rouen
Cathedral.

Text

Adding text to photos can seem a complicated process in some apps and programs, but PS Express makes it easy. You can easily create website graphics, greetings cards or memes and have plenty of control over fonts and opacity. As well, you can send your creations as layered PSD files to Photoshop CC on a computer.

Adding text with different fonts, opacity and colors is easy in PS Express.

Snapseed by Google

Developed by Google, Snapseed is an intuitive app that offers single-click “Looks” (filters by another name) and “Tools” for adjustable edits. It’s capable of great results with as little or as much input as you want. Among the tools, you’ll find anything from regular brightness, contrast or saturation sliders to more adventurous edits like “Double Exposure” or “Grunge”.

Looks: Fine Art

For black and white conversions, I find the “Fine Art” filter in Snapseed particularly pleasing. There is always a full range of tones to pack plenty of punch without much loss of shadow or highlight detail. The pictures are also very clean—no mid-tone noise in skies like there is with some B&W edits.

The Snapseed Fine Art filter gives a well-balanced B&W conversion with a pleasing range
of tones. I use it as my B&W cell phone default.

Tools: Drama

The Drama tool can easily produce overcooked results if you’re not careful, but it’s useful for bringing out the detail in clouds and/or lifting an otherwise dull photo taken on an overcast day. You can adjust the filter’s contrast effect as well as saturation to fine-tune the result.

The Drama tool emphasizes mid-tone contrast and bleaches saturation on its default setting, 

often resulting in more dramatic skies.

Tools: Lens Blur

Snapseed’s Lens Blur tool lets you emphasize a particular area of a photo by controlling background blur and vignetting. The “Transition” slider lets you control the feathering area between the main subject and background, enabling natural-looking results.

The Snapseed Lens Blur tool emphasizes the face of this wooden sculpture of Christ in
Venice.

The apps in this article will not be new to seasoned smartphone photographers, but I hope I’ve inspired others to use their cell phone cameras creatively. Phones have their limitations for some genres of photography, but that’s true of any camera and lens combo. They offer unrivaled portability. And while cell phones aren’t often seen in pro photography, they don’t rule out the chance of publication. Smartphones and their apps let you express yourself in countless ways.

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Gear Envy: Five Things to Consider Before Buying Your First Camera

By: Gina Milicia

#Gear#Nikon#Canon

1. The Ol’ Gear versus Photographer Chestnut

What’s the best camera and lens you can buy when you’re starting out?

• Anything by Nikon
• Anything by Canon
• Nikon and Canon are overrated; Pentax is what all the cool kids are using
• Do the best you can with what you can afford right now

A photographer went to a socialite party in New York. As he entered the front door, the host said “I love your pictures – they’re wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera.” He said nothing until dinner was finished, then: “That was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove.” – Sam Haskins
Believing a great camera will make you a great photographer is like thinking Roger Federer’s tennis racquet will make you a world champion tennis player. Um, it won’t – I’ve tried. I’ve also worn the same jeans as Gisele Bundchen and they didn’t make me a supermodel. Cooking with Wolfgang Puck’s saucepans didn’t make me a master chef either.
Great gear won’t make you a great photographer. Great lenses, however, can improve the sharpness of your images, and great lights and accessories can improve their quality. But all of that can be undone with poorly executed or sloppily composed images.
Just because something’s technically perfect doesn’t necessarily make it great or even good. A good photo should inspire an emotional reaction, and no camera or lens available today can achieve that for you.
I’m blown away daily by evocative photos on Instagram, 500px, and Flickr. Eighty percent or more of these images are taken with smart phones or entry-level cameras with kit lenses. When I share my images online, I get just as big a response from images taken with my iPhone as I do from images taken with pro gear. Because of the Internet, there’s never been a greater time in history to have your work seen and loved, or to inspire a reaction.
The best first camera you can buy is the one you can afford right now.

2. What are you shooting?

Next, you should ask yourself what your your gear is for? Where will you use it and how often?

1. I only take my camera to church on Sundays.
2. I’m going to document my trek to the summit of Mount Everest, rodeo rides and my next Tough Mudder event.
3. I photograph sixty weddings a year.
4. I’m still learning, but I love to take photographs every opportunity I get.

Are you planning on taking your camera to rugged subzero locations? Will you be shooting thousands of images a day or only taking photos on special occasions? This is the first question to consider before purchasing any new gear – what will you use it for?
If your answer is #2 or similar, you may want to consider a heavy duty pro body that’s built to take rough and tumble handling and extreme weather conditions; a cheaper lightweight camera may not withstand the wear and tear or hold up to the elements.
If you plan on taking thousands of frames daily or weekly, it may be more cost effective to invest in a mid-range camera that’s built to shoot more frames. The shutter on a cheap camera usually rolls over and dies after about 100,000 frames, so spending a few hundred extra may give you more longevity.
The subject matter you’ll be shooting will also influence your choice of lens. For example, if you’re planning on shooting a lot of portraits and head shots, many fashion and portrait photographers use long fixed focal lenses or zoom lenses. If you’ll be doing a lot of weddings, professionals stock their kits with wide and long lenses and lenses that are somewhere in-between. If you’ll be shooting a lot of scenery, landscape photographers get more use out of wider lenses. And lastly, if you plan on shooting a lot of food or products, you may want to consider adding a macro lens to your kit.

3. Brand loyalty. Which brand should you buy and why?

With cameras there’s no definitive answer to this question. Nikon appears to have a slight edge over all the other SLR brands, but there are advantages and disadvantages to each.
I spent the first 15 years of my career shooting with Nikon because both my brother and my first mentor used them. I loved my Nikon and never dreamt of swapping over. I initially invested in secondhand bodies and prime lenses and after I had saved enough coin to buy new, I stayed loyal to Nikon. Later when I switched over to digital, I continued my Nikon love affair.
The decision to convert to Canon was made for me by the lack of decent Nikon upgrades on the market in 2004-2005 and by the fact that Canon’s 1DS MKII blew anything Nikon made that year out of the water. I switched to Canon and invested in two new camera bodies, new lenses, speedlights and accessories.
Fast forward 10 years and you could argue that Nikon now makes better bodies than Canon, and that Canon makes slightly better lenses. For better or worse, I’ve made a commitment to Canon, and I’m sticking to that – for now. I still suffer the occasional bout of gear envy, but hey, I’m only human.
My advice is to test out each camera on offer in your price range. You’ll find that some cameras are more comfortable to use than others. Also factor in the warranty, general after-sales service, and how easy it is to have the brand you’re looking at serviced or repaired in your area. Another good indication of quality is the camera’s resale value. If your potential camera is flooding the low-end of the secondhand market, it may be a good indication you’re about to buy a lemon. Finally, check out camera reviews and look up discussions about the model you want to buy on forums. The photography community is incredibly thorough and generous with information.

4. Holy crop! Does size matter?

I bought my first digital Nikon 13 years ago and paid $17,000 AUD (approx. $14,000 USD) just for the body. It took 256 MB memory cards and produced raw image files that were around 6 MB. I used that camera to shoot hundreds of covers, poster shots, magazine spreads and advertising campaigns, and nobody ever questioned the file size.
Today my iPhone takes 8 MB photos. So, does that mean my iPhone camera is better? Umm – no. It’s not the quantity of the megapixels that count; it’s the quality of the megapixels and the size of the sensor. Cramming lots of megapixels onto a tiny sensor decreases image quality, making grainier looking files.
So how big are the sensors in the various cameras on the market today? A camera phone sensor is the size of a tic tac, a compact camera sensor is the size of an M&M, an entry-level SLR sensor is the size of postage stamp, and a pro level camera sensor is the size of a 35mm film frame.
So how many megapixels are enough and what’s the best size sensor for you? Well again, the answer comes down to what the output is going to be.
If you plan on shooting images that are going to end up on billboards or really large wall prints, then a full frame sensor that produces raw image files that are larger than 20 MB is ideal. An entry-level camera can produce large enough files to create billboard size images; they just won’t look anywhere near as good.
If you plan on printing midsize images — A4 (8.5×11″) or smaller — then an entry-level to mid-range camera will achieve really good results.
Finally, if you’re mostly going to share your images online, you can get away with a smart phone or compact camera, but any of the above will do the job, as well.

5. Physical size and weight

Does this camera make my bum look big?
This factor is often overlooked until you get home and pull your new camera out of the box and use it a few times. You may think you want the biggest, heaviest camera and the longest lens, but four hours into an eight-hour mountain hike, you may change your mind.
I currently use two different bodies: the 1DS MKIII and the 5D MKIII. My 1DSIII weighs twice as much as my 5D and produces better quality images, but I’m prepared to take a hit in quality when I’m travelling because I know I’ll shoot more if I’m carrying a lighter camera. Having to schlepp a heavy camera around makes me think twice about bringing it out in the first place.
A good camera should feel comfortable and be like a natural extension of your body. Test out how easy it is to change settings with one hand; believe me, this will get frustrating if it’s a difficult process.
Have I missed anything you feel is worth considering? Do you have anything to add to the discussion or have any questions? I’d love to hear from you.

Mastering Photography:
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8 Things to Consider Before You Buy Your Next Lens

By: Andrew S. Gibson

#PrimeLens#Budget#FullFrame

Prime lenses are best for creating portraits like this one, taken with the aperture set to f/1.2 to 

blur the background.

Are you thinking of buying a new lens for your camera? Stop, and read this article first.
One of the hardest things to achieve when buying new camera gear is clarity. Why do you need a new lens, how much should you spend, and where does it fit into the big picture of your gear acquisition? Once you are clear on these points, it makes the process of deciding which lens (or lenses) to buy next much easier.
Let’s look at eight things to consider before you buy that new lens:

1. Budget – how much do you have to spend?

Everybody’s budget is different, and the amount of money you have to spend determines which lenses come into consideration. But, no matter what your budget, hold that figure in mind while you read this article. You may see things in a different light afterward.
My approach is to own as few, good quality lenses as possible. In other words – don’t over buy. Keep the big picture in mind. What lenses would you eventually like to own for your camera? How does your next purchase fit into this plan? Ideally, you should have a good idea of which lenses you need, and then you can plan accordingly.
This type of thinking can lead to a big shift in what lenses you decide to buy. For example, a few years ago I became frustrated with the size and weight of my Canon system. I was also thinking ahead to some travel plans I had coming up, and realized it was important to keep my kit as lightweight as possible (hand luggage allowances are very low and strictly enforced in New Zealand airports). That led to the decision to switch to the Fujifilm X-Series system. I now have the lightweight kit required for traveling.

2. APS-C or Full-frame?

Most manufacturers offer both APS-C and full-frame cameras in their ranges. But this makes buying lenses even more confusing.
Let’s say you own an APS-C camera. But at the back of your mind you think you might one day buy a full-frame body. That raises the question – do you buy a lens that works on APS-C bodies only (the advantage being that it is probably smaller and lighter than a lens that would fit a full-frame camera) or one that fits a full-frame body as well (which will probably be larger and more expensive)?
Tricky question to answer, isn’t it? And that’s not even taking into account the difference that sensor makes to the lens’s angle of view.
Ideally, you should decide when you buy your first camera body whether it should be APS-C or full-frame, then stick to the same sensor size in the future. It greatly simplifies the lens buying process, and eliminates a lot of confusion.

What do these two lenses have in common? They are both 35mm f/1.4 lenses. The Canon one (left) is much bigger than the Fujifilm lens (right) because it is made to fit a full-frame camera. This is a good example of how sensor size, affects lens size.

3. Don’t fall into the focal length trap

The focal length trap is the belief that you need zoom lenses that cover every conceivable focal length. For example, if you start off with an 18-55mm kit lens, then buy a telephoto zoom, you might feel that you need one that starts from 55mm so that you don’t miss out on any focal lengths in between.
This simply is not true. The next point explains the way you should be thinking about lenses.

4. What subjects are you going to photograph?

Continuing with the 18-55mm kit lens example, you may find yourself considering the following second lenses: a 50mm prime as a portrait lens (giving you the benefit of high quality imaging and wide apertures), or a macro lens for taking close-up photos of insects and flowers, or wide-angle zoom for landscape photography, or a super-telephoto for wildlife and sports photography.
The key point here is that lens choice is related to subject. The subject always comes first. Once you know what you are going to photograph, you can choose the best lens (or lenses) for the job. Focal length is a secondary consideration.
In other words, don’t buy a lens because you think you should own it, buy it because you actually need it.

5. Should you buy a zoom or a prime lens?

The benefit of zoom lenses is convenience. If you are a wedding photographer it is much easier to zoom from a wide-angle to a telephoto when you need to, than it is to change lenses. If you are a landscape photographer it is easier to use a wide-angle zoom to frame the scene precisely, than it is to change prime lenses (or it may not be possible to stand where you need to get the shot).
The benefits of prime lenses are image quality and wider apertures. Compare an 18-55mm kit lens (typical maximum aperture f/5.6) with a 50mm prime with maximum aperture of f/1.4. There’s a four stop difference 16 times more light) between f/1.4 and f5.6, which helps you take photos with blurred backgrounds, and also to shoot in low light conditions, without raising the ISO too much. That’s why a 50mm prime is a better portrait lens than the 18-55mm kit lens (taking us back to the point about lens choice being driven by subject, not focal length).
Some photographers prefer primes, others zooms – thinking about your priorities will help you decide which is best for you.
For example, if you are a landscape photographer who always shoots at f/8, f/11, or f/16 then the wider apertures that prime lenses have are of little use to you, and a zoom may be a better choice.

Action photos require a telephoto lens and a camera with a good autofocus system capable of tracking moving subjects. A zoom will help you frame the subject accurately.

6. Don’t forget about weight and size

Think about the weight and size of your lenses carefully. After all, you are the one who is going to be carrying them around.
But there is another thing you should also think about when it comes to size, and that is filters. You can save a lot of money on filters by buying smaller lenses. If you’re curious to see how much, do a search for circular polarizing filters and compare the prices of the same filter in 58mm and 77mm sizes. If you need to buy a lot of filters (landscape photographers take note) then you can potentially save hundreds of dollars by buying a smaller (the diameter of the lens or filter size is also smaller) lens.

Wide-angle zooms are ideal for landscape photos and will help you take photos like this. Bear 

in mind that smaller lenses also require smaller (and less expensive) filters.

7. Build quality, weather proofing and autofocus

Most manufacturers have inexpensive, middle range, and expensive or high end lenses. Inexpensive lenses may seem like a bargain at the time, but they won’t be built as well as more expensive ones, and they may also have inferior (i.e. slower and noisier) autofocus motors.
At the other end of the scale expensive lenses tend to be built well, use good quality autofocus lenses (i.e. faster and quicker) and may also be weatherproofed (important if you take photos in bad weather or dusty conditions).
Bear these points in mind when considering a lens. Don’t forget to ask how well the lens is built, whether it is weatherproofed, and the speed and quality of the autofocus motor.

Wide-angle lenses are also helpful for taking photos indoors, where you may not have space 

to move back to use a longer focal length.

8. Brand name or third party?

You can often save money by buying a third-party lens for your camera, but in my opinion it is best to buy a lens made by your camera’s manufacturer whenever possible. Unless you have a specific reason to buy a third-party lens (usually because the type of lens you need isn’t made by your camera’s manufacturer) then stick with OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) lenses. They hold their value better, and autofocus performance is usually superior.
Editor’s note: for a good discussion on that topic, head to: Brand Name Versus Third-Party Photography Gear: Which is better?

If street and candid photography is your thing, then consider buying smaller lenses to help you take photos like this, without being noticed.

9. Image Stabilization*

An Image Stabilizer is a motor inside the lens, that moves the elements in a way that compensates for the movement created by camera shake. It is given different names by different manufacturers (Nikon, for example, calls it Vibration Reduction). It helps you take photos in low light, using lower ISO settings or smaller apertures, than would otherwise be possible. Lenses with Image Stabilization cost more than their non-stabilized counterparts, so think carefully about whether or not you need it, before paying the extra money.
* Some manufacturers, like Sony and Pentax, build Image Stabilization into the camera body, not the lenses.
Hopefully these points will help you decide which lens to buy next for your camera. If you have any questions about lenses let us know in the comments and I will do my best to answer.

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If you want to know more about buying and using lenses then please check out my ebook Mastering Lenses: A Photographer’s Guide to Creating Beautiful Photos With Any Lens.

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How to Use Shadow and Contrast to Create Dramatic Images

By: Andrew S. Gibson

#Shadow#Light#BlackandWhite 

You can use shadow and contrast to create dramatic images. The key is to forget about shadow detail. You don’t need it. Shadows are meant to be dark and mysterious. This is good – it leaves something to the viewer’s imagination.
Utilize the dynamic range of your sensor. Expose for the highlights, and let the shadows fall where they will. If the light is strong enough, the shadows will contain very little detail.

Harsh light can make dramatic images

I took the following photo in Bolivia. The sun was sinking behind me, casting a strong shadow that had started to touch the underneath of the old car. The shadow fills the bottom third of the image. We don’t need detail in the shadow, although a little doesn’t hurt. Shoot in Raw format, and in most cases you’ll be able to pull some shadow detail out in post-processing, giving you a choice.

When I see a dramatic image like this, with strong shadows, my immediate instinct is to convert it to black and white. High contrast scenes look great in monochrome. There’s something about removing colour that emphasizes the depth of the shadows, and the drama of the composition. You can add impact by increasing contrast in Lightroom and emphasizing texture using the Clarity slider. Here’s my black and white conversion of the photo above.

Look for naturally contrasty scenes

I took the next photo indoors, in an old manor house that had been converted to a museum. The apples were lit by light coming through a window. The windows were small, so the interior of the room was naturally dark, which is why there is so little detail in the background. It’s a high contrast scene – the area lit by window light ,is much brighter than the rest of the scene.

Here’s the same image converted to black and white. Without colour, the emphasis is on the textures and shadows.

Silhouettes

The following photo of an approaching storm uses also uses shadow and contrast. The mountains are backlit and silhouetted. The approaching storm clouds are dark and ominous. A brightly lit strip of sky fills the gap between the two dark areas. A silhouetted telegraph pole forms a natural focal point. The drama of the light has created a dramatic image.

The image is naturally monochromatic, and converts well to black and white.

There are lots of shadows in this seascape. But the ones that caught my eye were the silhouetted figures on the right. After I had set up the shot, two children walked across the beach, and climbed up on the rock. I used a long shutter speed (30 seconds) to blur the water, which also blurred the silhouetted children. I was fortunate because the figures add human interest and scale to the scene. They are a natural focal point that pulls the eye across the photo.

It also converted well to black and white.

The final image is also one that uses shadow to create mystery and drama. I focused on the grass on the foreground, set a wide aperture, and let the sun go out of focus. I adjusted the white balance in Lightroom to emphasize the warmth of the setting sun. This image is different from the others in that the colour is an important part of the composition and it doesn’t work as well in black and white.

One of my aims with this article is to dispel the idea that it is essential to capture lots of shadow detail, and that if you fail to do so, it is some kind of technical shortcoming. Not so – let’s celebrate the fact that camera sensors don’t capture the full range of brightness that our eyes are capable of seeing. Let’s use the interplay of light and shadow to create interesting and dynamic compositions. Let’s create some mystery and leave gaps for the viewer’s imagination to fill in.
Do you use shadows in your images? Please share your images with lots of shadow and contrast in the comments below.

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My new ebook Mastering Composition will help you learn to see and compose photos better. It takes you on a journey beyond the rule of thirds, exploring the principles of composition you need to understand in order to make beautiful images.

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The Importance of Shadows in Portrait Photography

By: John McIntire

When you’re starting out with learning how to light your photography, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of blasting your subjects with light from all angles. The results are often bright images without a hint of a shadow anywhere. Sometimes that’s exactly what the job calls for: bright, cleanly lit images with very little contrast. However, obliterating the shadows in your images can have a negative impact.

 

#shadows#Portrait#Photagraphy

The difference between heavily lit images and those with the shadows maintained can be
astounding.

Deliberate and effective use of shadows in your images can help to create a natural contrast and depth, convey drama and emotion, and provide you with powerful compositional elements in your photography.
This article will discuss these reasons why it’s not only important to retain the shadows in your imagery, but to keep them in primary consideration while you are still planning your images. There is also an outline of a simple exercise you can do to help you to start better seeing shadows, and how they affect your images, that you can use to improve your understanding of light.

Not just low-key

Obviously, low-key images rely heavily on shadows, but shadows are important in all styles of 

photography.

It is important to clarify one thing here. This concept doesn’t just apply to low-key images where the vast majority of the space in the frame is dominated by shadow tones. In fact, shadows are just as important to brightly lit images as they help to define the shape and features of your subject.

Why shadows are important

Retaining the shadows in your images can do a lot of things for you, especially in terms of image design. Listed below are a few of these for you to consider.

Depth and contrast

Retaining shadows in your images can help give you a natural contrast and add depth to
your images.

Contrast, in terms of this article, is the tonal difference between dark and light. This contrast is how we see things in three dimensions and it’s exactly how you can create the appearance of three dimensions in your two-dimensional imagery. The thing is, it’s hard to do this without shadows. (It’s also difficult to do it without specular highlights, but that’s a different discussion for a different day.)
For example, to illustrate the three-dimensional nature of a nose, you need a highlight that graduates into mid-tones. The highlight indicates the closest point of the nose to the light. Assuming the light is above your subject, shadows will fall underneath the nose. This provides a visual indicator that the nose is protruding from the face. Without the shadows, there will be little, if any, differentiation between the nose and the rest of the subject’s face. This results in a flat, unsettling image. Even if your viewers cannot figure out what they’re looking at, they will still be aware that something seems wrong.
Ensuring that you have shadows in your images will help to have pleasing, natural-looking images in any type of lighting.

Add drama and evoke mood

Shadows are a fantastic tool when you are trying to create images that evoke mood and
emotion.

Generous use of shadow tones in your images is one of the quickest and most effective ways to evoke a sense of mood and helps you to create images with bags of drama.
You can do this in a number of ways including:

Backlighting and short lighting

Short lighting is a great tool to help you place shadows where they have the most impact.

Lighting your subject from behind will render most of the foreground of your frame as shadow tones, with only certain aspects of your subjects rendered with highlights.
To control the strength of your shadows, you can change the size and shape of your light source, change the distance between the light source and your subject, or fill the shadows with a secondary light source.

Lighting choice

Making a deliberate lighting choice (like the 2’x2′ softbox used here) to emphasize your
shadows is one of the easiest ways to take control of the shadows in your imagery.

If you use a small(ish) light source in close to your subject, you can make use of the faster rate of light fall off to help introduce shadows into your images.
For an even better grasp of this, pick a few movies or television shows (especially dramas) and study the lighting choices during dramatic scenes with a lot of dialogue. In a lot of cases, you will find that there was a conscious choice to light the actors in a way that highlights specific features while throwing most of the rest of the actor in shadow.

Compositional elements

Shadows are a great way to help compose your images and can help you to draw
attention to your focal point.

Shadows can be used to wonderful effect in crafting compositional devices within your images. Using darker tones to frame your subject, or to lead your viewer’s eye to what you want them to see can help to make more dynamic and interesting images.

Fill

Shadows don’t have to be dark. Even filled in with additional lights, you can still use shadows 

for contrast and depth.

When you’re talking about shadows, that doesn’t mean you have to stick to ultra dark tones with little or no visible detail. By using fill lights, you can still light every single part of your image while retaining shadow tone. If you expose your fill light two or three stops below your key light, you will still have the appearance of contrast in your images, but you will retain all the finer details that would be missing if you hadn’t used fill.

An exercise in shadows

To get the grips with this concept, try this simple exercise with a lot of different subjects.
First, choose a subject. Any subject will do, but you might want to start with something static.
Take a good, critical look at what you’ve picked to photograph and start thinking about the lighting. However, instead of thinking about the highlights, try to focus only on where you want to place your shadows.
With that decided, pick a light source (a desk lamp will do) and light your subject so that you have the desired effect.
If you want to take this further, once you have your shadows in place, you can further modify and manipulate your light so that the highlights behave in a way that compliments the shadows.

That’s it

While this is a simple concept, it can seem counterintuitive. When you’re approaching lighting, of course it makes sense to think about the highlights first; however, incorporating some extra thought about your shadows can help take your lighting skills to a new level. Try the exercise above with a few different subjects, and evaluate if and how you can make shadows work for you in your photography.

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How to Choose the Best Lens for Travel and Street Photography

By: Andrew S. Gibson

If you were to ask me what the best lens for street and travel photography is, the first thing I would advise you to do, is to think about what you need from the lens. In my case, the following criteria are important to me –  your list, of course, may differ.

• The lens should be small, lightweight, and unobtrusive.
• The optical quality must be excellent.
• Autofocus performance needs to be very good.
• As I sometimes shoot in low light, a wide aperture is a must.

#LowLight#Aperture#Lens

These criteria should point to several lenses that may be suitable for you. Perhaps you own these lenses already – in which case the next step is to take them out into the street, and take some photos with them. This is important, because you may find that in practice, the lens you prefer to use is different from the one you thought might be best.
For example, you may think that a zoom lens will come in useful because of the convenience of being able to quickly adjust focal length. But in reality, find that you prefer a prime lens with a wider aperture for shooting in low light, or using selective focus.
On the other hand, you may be approaching this exercise with the intent of choosing a lens to buy. It’s difficult to test a lens if you don’t already own it, although you may be able to borrow or rent it. If you can’t do that, the next best thing to do is to go online and do some research. Read some reviews of the lens. Look for articles written by photographers whose photos you like, who also use the lens you’re considering. Go onto Flickr and see if there is a group dedicated to the lens. Explore some good quality forums, ask the members if anybody owns the lens, and what they think of it.

My favorite lens

By now you are probably wondering what is my favorite lens for street and photography. The answer is – the Fujinon 35mm f/1.4 lens. To be honest, this has come as a surprise to me. When I first bought into the Fujifilm camera system, I thought that I would either prefer a short telephoto lens (such as the 56mm f/1.2) or a moderate wide-angle (like the 18mm f/2 pancake lens) for street and travel photography.
But in practice, I’ve found that I prefer the 35mm. It has received a lot of praise since it was released with the X-Pro-1 several years ago, and is a standard prime lens (for APS-C cameras). The angle-of-view is very similar to that of a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera, or a 25mm lens on a Micro four-thirds camera.
So, why has this lens worked so well for me? The short answer is that it is extremely versatile. I prefer to take the simple approach to street photography, and that means reducing the number of choices that I have to make. Using a prime means I don’t have to think about focal length, yet the versatility of this lens means I can use it a number of different ways.
For example, when photographing people I can keep my distance and frame the person in the context of their environment.

Or I can get closer and concentrate more on the person.

I can also get close to the subject for a tight detail shot, like this one.

Standard lenses for street photography

Working distance is a term used in macro and close-up photography to describe how far the lens is from the subject. You can apply this concept to street, and travel photography too. If you are using a telephoto lens, you will be farther away from the subject. That’s great for not being noticed, but it can also lead to a kind of detached feeling in the image. The viewer can tell you weren’t close to the action, and there may be a sense of lack of involvement in the scene.
A wide-angle lens forces you to get in closer to fill the frame. The closer you get to somebody on the street, the more likely they are to notice you, and react to the camera in some way. This is not necessarily a bad thing (Bruce Gilden has taken this confrontational style to an extreme) and using a wide-angle lens definitely shows involvement in the life of the street. It’s also an approach you can take if you like to go up to people, and ask permission to take their photo first.
The standard lens falls in-between these two extremes. It lets you get close enough to be involved in the scene, but not so close that people are overly bothered by what you are doing. It helps you blend in to what is a very common thing these days – people taking photos on the street (although most often with camera phones, not actual cameras).

By the way, all the photos in this article were taken in the Spanish city of Cadiz, and I wanted to show the people in context, with the historical buildings in the background, in at least some of the photos. The 35mm lens worked very well for this.

So, for me, the 35mm lens is a clear favorite for travel and street photography. But, what about you? What lenses do you prefer to use? Please let me know in the comments, I’d like to hear your thoughts.

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Which Street Photography Lens is Right for You?

By: Simon Bond

The correct lens for the correct photo is a debate often heard among many photographers. In this article, you’ll see the various merits of three different street photography lenses. The 50mm lens is often thought of as the perfect lens for street photography, perhaps even the only one.
Using different focal lengths can dramatically change the type of photos you take, though. So let’s take a look at which street photography lens might be right for you!

#Photographer#Lens#Photo

This photo was taken at 135mm. There is still plenty of context in this scene, even
at the longer focal length.

Wide-angle to get in close

This class of lens is usually thought of as a landscape, or architecture photography lens. That may be true, though using it for street photography is equally valid. So why might you use a wide-angle lens in your street photography work?

• Get close – That famous Robert Capa quote that I’m sure you’ve seen, “If your pictures are not good enough, you’re not close enough.” Well, when you use a wide-angle lens for street photography you’ll have to get close. This will get you closer to the action and will lead to the following.
• Tell more story – Capturing a wider scene will allow more context to come into your photo. If you can avoid the photograph becoming too cluttered, and you retain a clear focus on the main subject you will likely have a great photo.
• Interaction – Getting close to your subject means interacting with your subject, most likely a person. They’ll now know you’re taking their photo. How you use this to your advantage depends on you. Building a positive relationship with your subject will enhance your photo, even if that relationship is short.

This photo required a wide-angle lens to capture the whole scene. It was photographed
at 17mm, and I was close to the people I captured in the image.

The nifty fifty, the classic street photography lens

The icon of street photography, it really is one of the best lenses out there. There are several different options for this lens along with the more expensive variety having a larger aperture. What makes the 50mm lens such a good choice for street photography then?

• Normal field of view – This lens gives you a field of view that’s close to what your eyes see, a trait desirable for street photos. So you’re not dealing with a distorted view when using this type of lens. This assumes you’re using a full frame camera, crop sensors will give you a longer focal length of around 75mm on a 50mm lens.
• The Depth of Field – As a prime lens with a fixed focal length these lenses have a large aperture of at least f/1.8. This allows you to create a shallow depth of field, and to blur out the background. This control can really help you take better street photos when it is applied well.
• Comfortable distance – With this lens you’ll be close to your subject, but not in their face. A 50mm will also include enough of the surrounding scene to allow context in your photo.
• Fast lens – This lens can be used in low light conditions. The combination of a wide aperture and mid-range focal length make this a fast lens and a good option to use at night.

There’s no getting away from it, the 50mm lens is GREAT for street photography.

Long focal length for the unobtrusive photographer

At the longer focal lengths, you’ll be positioned farther from your subject, far enough that they may not spot you taking their photo. This type of lens is the choice of the paparazzi, although it’s unlikely you’ll be using a lens with the same kind of focal lengths (really long!).
So what are the advantages of standing a bit further back?

• Capture the moment – When the person you’re photographing is oblivious to your presence, the chance of the moment being natural is a lot higher.
• Compress the scene – This allows you to focus much more on the subject, but the risk is that you don’t include the area around them so you lose some of the story. It’s still possible to provide context at longer focal lengths, you will just have to stand even farther back.
• Avoid confrontation – Not everyone wants their photo taken, and photos taken without permission can cause a confrontation if you’re caught. While it’s better to build a relationship with the person you want to photograph, sometimes what they don’t know won’t hurt them. In this case, using a longer telephoto lens allows you to get the photo, without causing a scene.

This photo was taken using a 135mm lens. You can see the street vendor preparing food,
the outside scene isn’t visible though.

Extra tip

When taking street photos with a long focal length you can sometimes take advantage of a shard of light. This will typically happen when there is a gap in the roof, perhaps in a market. Underexpose your photo at -2 or even -3 EV, with just enough exposure to give detail to your subject, but make the rest of the photo black. This will give some minimalism to your photo, which is a nice effect.

This image was photographed at 180mm, on a camera with a crop factor of 1.6x. The shard
of light was used to make the background black, as it is underexposed.

What’s your preferred street photography lens?

Many people will stick to the 50mm lens as their street photography lens of choice, but there are alternatives available. To this day, my favorite street photo was taken at full zoom with a 70-300mm lens.
How about you, do you have a favored lens for street photography? How about trying a different lens, and see how that changes the types of photos you get?
Here at dPS, we love to hear your opinions, so let us know what you think. We’d also love to see your examples of street photos, together with the lens you used to take that photo. Please share in the comments section below.

Here is a selection of lenses that could be used for street photography.

This is a scene captured using a wide-angle lens, photographed at 17mm.

The scene was photographed at night. The 50mm lens is fast, and ideal for this type of scene.

This scene also shows the 50mm lens in action.

Even a fish-eye lens can be used for street photography. Though admittedly this photo is also 

architectural.

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