8 Micro Habits That Will Completely Change Your Photography in a Year

By: Jaymes Dempsey

#photographyeveryday #photographyislife #photographylover

Do you want to become a master photographer…
…in only a year?
That’s what this article is all about.

Because in it, I’m going to give you 8 micro habits that will completely change your photography in a year. These micro habits are small adjustments in how you go about taking photos. They take very little effort.
But if you make a real effort to follow them, you’ll be a photography master within a year.
Sound good?
Let’s get started.

1. Check your settings every time you turn on your camera

This is such an easy way to improve your photos.
And yet photographers always forget about it!
All you have to do…
…is check your camera settings before you begin a shoot. And make sure you have the settings you need for the current situation.

Because here’s the thing:
Every photography outing is different. And you absolutely do not want to find yourself using the same settings from shoot to shoot. That’s a recipe for disaster.
But if you don’t check your camera before you start shooting, that’s exactly what will happen. Because you’ll forget about your previous settings, and you won’t realize that you’ve seriously messed up until halfway through a photo shoot.
(How do I know? Because I used to do this all the time! Until I started checking my settings, that is.)
So here’s what you do:
Get in the habit of choosing new settings every time you turn on your camera.
First, make sure you’re shooting in RAW, or RAW+JPEG. This is absolutely key. If you don’t do this, you’re sacrificing a ton of post-processing potential in your images. Fortunately, this can be a ‘set it and forget it’ feature, but it pays to be alert.
Next, think about your camera mode. Do you want to shoot in Aperture Priority mode? Do you want to shoot in full Manual mode? This depends on your shooting situation, but Aperture Priority is a good go-to.
Third, think about your ISO setting. It should sit at a default of around ISO 200, but feel free to raise it if the light is limited.
Fourth, choose your metering mode. I recommend leaving your camera set to evaluative metering mode (also known as matrix or multi-segment metering, depending on the brand). Evaluative metering takes into account the entire scene and determines the best overall exposure.
Finally, think about your focus mode. AF-S (One Shot) focusing is a good default because it locks focus when you press your shutter button halfway.
Checking your camera settings is easy. It takes 60 seconds, tops.
So you’ve just got to get in the habit of remembering to do it!


 
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2. Check the surroundings before you take each photo

You’ve framed up your shot. Your finger is on the shutter button. You’re itching to capture a photo.
But you wait.
Why?
Because if you want to make sure your photo is a stunner, then you must check the surroundings.
In other words, you need to look all around the viewfinder, so you can be absolutely sure there are no distractions.
Notice how clean this photo is; it’s a flower, a stem, and nothing else. That’s what you want.

But if you don’t get in the habit of checking the whole scene before taking a photo, you’ll find that all sorts of distractions creep into the frame.
You’ll get stray leaves, branches, and other elements around the edges.
And you’ll get telephone poles, wires, and street signs sprouting out of your subject’s head.
These things are so easy to miss if you’re not looking for them. You get so excited about your subject, so fixated on it, that you miss what’s going on in the surrounding area.
Now, you don’t have to do a long check. It doesn’t have to take more than a couple of seconds. But just flick your eyes over the scene. And make sure there are absolutely no distractions.
Then you can take your shot.

3. Only get out to shoot during the best light

One of the easiest mistakes to make in photography?
Shooting during bad light.
In fact, bad light is probably the number one culprit of lackluster images. Because bad light can break a photo so easily. It can take a beautiful composition and make it into a muddy mess.
That’s why you should get in the habit of shooting only during the best light.
But what counts as the best light?
It depends somewhat on your genre of photography. But it’s pretty hard to go wrong with golden-hour lighting.
You find golden-hour light early and late in the day when the sun is low in the sky. The low sun casts a golden glow over the entire scene, giving you light that’s soft, warm, and just all-around beautiful.
This photo was shot with classic golden-hour lighting:

Golden hour is usually seen as the two hours after sunrise and the two hours before sunset. But there’s no hard-and-fast rule. Instead, just start shooting when the light becomes golden, and you’ll do just fine.
Now, there are a few other types of light that are worth pursuing.
First, just after sunset (and just before sunrise), you get something known as the blue hour, when the sun moves lower and lower over the horizon. This can be great for landscape photos, as long as you remember to bring your tripod!
Second, cloudy light is good for bringing out colors. That’s why macro and flower photographers love clouds; it allows them to capture deeper, richer colors in their subjects.
It took cloudy light to get these stunning red tones:

Here’s the bottom line:
If you can restrain yourself from shooting bad light, and get out to shoot during good light…
…well, your photography will move to the next level, instantly.

4. Shoot every scene from 5 different angles

It’s easy to get stuck in a creative rut.
One where you approach a scene and shoot it head-on, without ever trying different angles.
By doing this, you’re missing out on so many potential shots. So many possibilities for creativity!
That’s where this micro habit comes in.
Here’s how it works:

When you approach a scene, go ahead and take the standard, head-on shot. This can sometimes look good, after all!
But then get into unusual angles. Try finding a vantage point and shooting from overhead. Try getting down low down to the ground and shooting up.

Move around your subject, taking care to capture at least five unique angles, every single time you do a shoot.
And you’ll soon be taking unique photos everywhere you go.

5. Use the rule of thirds to begin every composition

The rule of thirds is a basic composition guideline.
It states that the best compositions put the main elements a third of the way into the frame, somewhere along these gridlines:

In particular, you should try to put your main subject at the power points, which are the four intersection points on the grid.
Here’s an example of a photo that uses the rule of thirds:

I was careful to put the two flowers along the gridlines, and the overall shot came out looking well-balanced (which is exactly what you want!).
Now, the rule of thirds isn’t a hard-and-fast law of composition. You can break the rule of thirds. And sometimes you can create truly unique photos by being willing to break the rule of thirds.
But the rule of thirds is an excellent starting point for all of your compositions.
So here’s what I recommend:
Get in the habit of using the rule of thirds to start off your compositions. Think to yourself: How can I align elements of this photo with the rule of thirds gridlines?
If you ultimately don’t use the rule of thirds for that photo, that’s okay. But if you at least consider the rule of thirds before breaking it, your compositions will improve fast.

6. Post-process all of your good photos

Here’s the thing about photography:
If you take photos, and you don’t do anything with them, they’ll look decent.
But if you do even a bit of post-processing…
Well, you can make them look amazing. Because a little post-processing can go a long way.
Which is why I suggest that you post-process every single one of your good photos, even if you’d rather be out shooting.

Now, you don’t actually have to do much to your photos. Take all of the photos from your recent shoot, and go through them quickly, selecting the ‘decent to good’ photos out of the mix.
Then go through these and do a quick processing job.
What should this entail?
You should at least do two very basic things.
First, you should adjust the contrast. Most photos can benefit from a significant contrast boost, so test it out on your photos to see how it looks.
Second, you should adjust the colors. Lightroom has a slider called Vibrance, and it’s amazing. It simply increases the saturation of colors that aren’t yet saturated, so it’s sort of a ‘smart saturation’ option. And it’ll really make your colors pop!
After this, you can go on to make other changes, do noise reduction and sharpening, etc. But you don’t have to. Just a bit of contrast and a bit of Vibrance can do a long way.

7. Take one image every day to increase your photography skills

Do you currently take one photo every day?
For a long time, I didn’t. I went out once a week, took a series of photos, then went home.
And then I decided to take photos every day for a month.

By the time the month was up, I had resolved to continue to take photos every single day, no matter what – because it improved my photography so much.
I started to see compositions where I previously saw none. I started to get a sense of the light that I had never had before.
And this didn’t require any extra learning. It was just from being…aware. From keeping my photography brain awake.
So I urge you:

Start taking photos every day. Even if you can only take one photo, even if you can only take it with a smartphone, you should still do it.
You’ll be amazed by how quickly your photography improves.

8. Look at beautiful photos every single day

Here’s the final micro habit that will drastically improve your photography:
Look at beautiful photos.
Every day.
You see, the more you look at good photos, the more you develop your sense of color, composition, and lighting. You’ll start to notice the way other photographers use the rule of thirds. You’ll start to notice how photographers use contrasting colors to great effect. You’ll start to notice how different angles give different looks.
And then you’ll start noticing how you can use these techniques in your own photography.

Plus, in this day and age, it’s not difficult to look at stunning photos. You can subscribe to the Instagram feeds of great photographers. You can subscribe to high-quality Facebook groups. Or you can join the email lists of top photography websites (such as this one!).
The key is to make sure you look at amazing photos every day, no matter what.

8 Micro Habits That Will Completely Change Your Photography in a Year: Conclusion

Now that you know about these game-changing micro habits…
…all that’s left is to start implementing them in your daily life so you can completely change your photography in a year.
None of them are hard. They take a few minutes, at most.
But look back in a year, and you’ll be so glad you started them.

Also, if you found these micro habits useful, then you should check out our course, 31 days to become a Better Photographer.
The course is full of useful tips and suggestions like the ones I’ve given here. And it’s guaranteed to improve your photography, fast.
So if you’re looking to take your photography to the next level, the course is exactly what you need.
View it here:
https://resources.digital-photography-school.com/ref/937/

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5 Creative Uses For A Fisheye Lens

By Jason D. Little
#photographyeveryday #photographyislife #photographylover

When you hear someone talking about a fisheye lens, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Perhaps you think they’re useless to your style of shooting. Maybe you perceive them as being gimmicky or you can’t help but think of the severe distortion.
If you have any kind of dubious feelings about fisheye lenses, no one would blame you. These lenses do, in fact, have limited appeal and, yes, the distortion is extreme. Are fisheye lenses a gimmick? Not really, but anything in the wrong hands can be reduced to a gimmick, just as anything in the right hands can be awesome.
Before you dismiss them, consider these 5 ways that fisheye lenses can serve as incredible creative tools.

Go Wider Than Wide

A “true” fisheye lens is one with an angle of view of at least 180 degrees at the widest point, with a focal length of anywhere between 8-16mm. That’s wide.
Such a wide lens allows you to fit a whole lot into a single frame. Of course, you’ll need to be particularly judicious about your composition and where you place the horizon, but a fisheye lens opens up so many more possibilities for how you use visual real estate.

Photo by Vishal Shah 

Love The Distortion

I suppose most photographers don’t love perspective distortion, otherwise, we wouldn’t take the time to correct it in post. And distortion is probably the characteristic most commonly associated with fisheye lenses.
Fisheye lens distortion doesn’t have to be a distraction, however. The distorted lines can be used to create visual depth and lead the viewer into the scene. Used correctly, fisheye distortion makes for images that possess a degree of drama not achievable with a traditional wide-angle lens.

Photo by Nicolas Poupart 

Remove The Distortion

If you don’t love the distortion you can get rid of it. The first step is to center the horizon, as things located in the center of the frame of a fisheye lens are typically straight. Next, you’ll need to apply a “defishing” technique, using either a lens correction profile, special software or a bit of deft post-production work.
You can learn more about defishing a fisheye lens here.

Take A Selfie/Portrait

Fisheye lenses are hardly flattering to human subjects, but sometimes flattery isn’t the point.
Fisheye portraits are especially effective with babies and young children, as the enhancement of their youthful features (such as their big eyes) tends to be perceived as fun and adorable.
Similarly, fisheye lenses can work well with pets and other animals. Get up close to their nose to create some weird, comical distortion.
Yes, you can use a fisheye lens on anything and anyone you want — yourself included (due to the 180-degree field of view you can take unique selfies) — just be aware that normal feature proportions aren’t going to appear so normal.

Photo by The Lazy Artist Gallery 

Experiment

While fisheye lenses are often relegated to occasional, whimsical uses they can be put to serious work.
From astrophotography to urban environments to interiors, fisheye lenses possess greater potential than most people give them credit for. Indeed, these lenses occupy a certain niche and are quirky compared to more traditional lenses but this in no way impacts their legitimacy as a creative tool.
In order to be truly effective with a fisheye lens, you’ll have to put forth the time and effort to understand all the ways in which it’s different from any other lens you use. You basically have to experiment with it in order to master it.

Photo by Ben Cheung 

When it comes to fisheye lenses, some photographers love them, some hate them, others are indifferent about the whole topic. Some see fisheye lenses as toys, while others see them as a way to make a statement and stand out from the crowd.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with having a little fun with a fisheye lens, but hopefully, you’re now convinced of their creative potential.

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Walmart Sold DJI Inspire 2 and Spark Drones for $17.99 – Accessories and Everything!

By Kehl Bayern 


Some people get really lucky in the online shopping lottery, and it seems some drone fans got a huge deal from Walmart when the company’s website accidentally listed the hugely popular – and pretty expensive – DJI Inspire 2 and Spark drones for $USD 17.99.

Emrah AYVALI from Pexels.

This price even included the accessories for the drones. That’s quite a steal for a package that typically runs $USD 559.

As FStoppers reports, buyers who chanced upon this deal haven’t heard anything from Walmart about a pricing error or an order cancellation. Many people are pointing out that Walmart is pretty good for honoring its pricing mistakes and thus they are pretty confident that the people who ordered these kits for such a massive discount will get them.
In addition to the DJI packages, the retailer also had Leica and Sony cameras for sale for anywhere from $USD 24.99 to $USD 42.99 while they normally retail for thousands of dollars. The vendor on the Walmart website is listed as one eCom Electronics and savvy shoppers have scoured the website for other deals from the vendor. We think that might throw a wrench into plans to receive the products at the discounted price as the vendor might not be supplying Walmart directly but merely selling on the site.
You can check out a screen cap of the sale by clicking here.
To this end, DPReview points out that eCom Electronics has a Better Business Bureau rating of C which isn’t the best.
What do you think? Will people end up getting what they ordered or do you think eCom Electronics has an out in this instance? Let us know in the comments below.

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5 Tips to Improve your Seascapes

By: Nisha Ramroop

The term seascape is used to describe a sub-genre of landscape photography, where the subject is (or is composed with) the sea, beach or ocean. Similar to landscape shooting, there is a certain amount of planning that goes into having a good day “at sea”.
Here are a few tips to help you on your next salty excursion.

1. Angles and perspectives

So how do you want to tell your seascape story?
There is the obvious option of shooting at sea level. You should include foreground elements to give your scene some depth and interest.

If you have higher ground, use it for a different perspective.
When you shoot from above, you are able to capture coastline shapes to your advantage. These include the shoreline, cliff edges or other rocky outcrops, and the way the land and sea meet. The ocean works well as your foreground or middle ground in the frame. Use the textures around you as well at different angles.
Most seascapes are shot at wide angles to capture the entire scene. Waves also make interesting seascape images. You can do this using a telephoto lens or by getting in the water with your camera properly housed in an underwater case. The latter is not as easy because it requires a whole other skill level.

                                                       
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2. Shutter speed

Since seascapes are all about water or using the water element in your composition, shutter speed is an important consideration. In regular landscapes, your shutter speed affects mostly your sky, whereas, in seascape photography, you now introduce another major moving element. Thus learning to photograph water, and how shutter speed affects it, will go a long way towards your seascapes. You can freeze those crashing waves in time or shoot longer exposures for an end result of smooth, silky water. It all depends on your desired result.

3. Chasing tides

When you go out to shoot landscapes, most likely you check the weather forecast beforehand.
For seascapes, it is a good idea to also check the times for high and low tides. The tides may enhance interesting land features at your location. Some areas may work well with both high and low tides, while others may only be accessible during the low. This is a good reason why scouting a location helps with planning your outing.
Similarly, shooting the same area at different tidal times can also be an interesting photo project.

Tidal pools also make great foreground subjects, and as a bonus, it can be reflective as well.

4. How wet?

Sometimes you need to get your feet wet to fully capture the beauty of the ocean. Other times, you may even get in knee-deep. Saltwater is the natural enemy of electronics though, so keep your gear safe, and more importantly, yourself!
It is better to shoot crashing waves from a distance. If you venture close, choose a dry, safe position and have someone help you look out for rogue waves. Wet rocks can be slippery, so be careful walking on them.
Keeping your gear dry is also a challenge, especially the front lens from sea spray. Plastic bags or waterproof covers and microfiber cloths come in very handy!

Tripods in the ocean are a tricky thing to maneuver with the ebbs and flows of the waves, but once you get a sound footing, you are all set.
If you are shooting on the beach, use tripod feet, or implant the feet a couple of centimeters into the sand to increase stability.
When shooting in the sea, wash off your tripod with fresh water as soon as you can. Keep in mind that salt and sand can still get into the leg joints/extenders and affect slide and lock features.
Do you get in the water more often than not? Then a good recommendation is to get a cheap, sturdy tripod that is replaceable. If not, you will need to disassemble your tripod to clean it properly.

5. Let’s reflect

What could be better than an amazing sky? How about its reflection in a large body of water?
The magic of reflections is real, and an expanse of the ocean provides a fantastic opportunity to capture it. When you use other foreground elements such as rocks, keep an eye out for pools and puddles formed within them to add some extra interest.

Wet sand and rocks can also be reflective as waves recede or at low tide. All of these elements can come together to create an awesome composition. Wet rocks are yet another reason to go out shooting after it rains.

Seascapes are definitely worth the effort. The ocean is always changing, and you can get totally different captures at sunrise and sunset or between high and low tides.
Seascapes also work during the day when the sun is high and is enhancing those beautiful ocean blues and greens, at varying depths.
Plan in advance what you want to capture. What angles are interesting? Can you do something different than what has been done before?
When getting your feet wet, do so safely for both you and your gear. But most of all, have fun! Respect the ocean, and you can make amazing images while listening to its soundtrack.

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3 Reasons Why You Should Revisit Your Old Photos

By Jason D. Little 
  


There are all sorts of sayings about how one should never live in the past, always keep moving forward, never look back. It’s generally good advice — I get the lesson these precepts intend to instil. But as always, there are exceptions.
I think it’s a good idea for photographers to look back every once in a while. You know that virtual mountain of photos you have stored across multiple hard drives? What are you doing with them? When was the last time you clicked on the earliest dated folder in your Lightroom library?

If you haven’t had a look at your old photos in a while, you should.
Here are 3 reasons you should occasionally rummage through your personal photo archive.

Find Hidden Gems

When you’re culling a bunch of photos you have had a mental checklist of characteristics of you want those images to possess — it’s more than a matter of whether they’re good or bad.
In cases such as this, it’s easy to overlook or dismiss photos that are actually pretty good, but due to the fact that they don’t fit into what you need at the moment, you don’t pay much attention to them.
And then you just forget about them.


When you go back and look at those old images with fresh eyes, you’re likely to come across a shot or two that you like more than you remember, which is always fun.

Suzy Hazelwood

New Skills, New Edits

No one excels at image editing when first starting out. You can prove this to yourself when you dig through your old photos and find some potentially good images that make you cringe at how poorly you edited them.
Odds are you went overboard with the editing — too much sharpening, contrast, clarity. The usual rookie mistakes.
Now that your post-processing skills have improved, you can re-edit those older photos and give them the treatment they deserve.

Negative Space

Mistakes To Learn From

I think this is the most important reasons to revisit your old photos.
Again, it can be a cringe-inducing activity — I’ve buried my head in my hands numerous times when looking at shots I took years ago. But I do believe it’s time well spent.
Not only does reviewing your mistakes remind you not to make those same mistakes again, but it also allows you to take an honest assessment of just how far you’ve come — or haven’t.
Obviously, you want to be able to look at your old photos and say, “Wow, I’ve come a long way.” Progression should be the goal of any creative individual.
If, however, you look at those shots and feel not much has changed from then to now…well…at least you know you’ve got work to do. And that maybe all it takes to light a fire under you and get you motivated.

JÉSHOOTS

Final Thoughts

There’s nothing wrong with a periodic trip down memory lane. In fact, I think it’s a good thing. You get to rediscover some of the good things you did that you may have forgotten about; you can rework otherwise good shots with your improved editing skills; you can assess your creative growth.
When was the last time you revisited your archives? What did it teach you?

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Ideas on How to Archive And Back Up Your Photos Properly to Make Your Life Easier

By Dzvonko Petrovski 
 


Archiving your photographs properly helps with a smooth and consistent workflow, because all of your files are just a few clicks away. Who wouldn’t want that? The basic premise behind good backing-up habits, is to reduce the time searching for things you need, thus increasing your productivity. So let's take a look at how that can be done.
Your camera does most of the work here. It does it by adding a timestamp in the metadata and sometimes the geo-location as well. You can later use this feature to better organize your photographs.

securecat

How to Name Your Folders for Easy Searching

When importing your photos, it is wise to set up your software to automatically divide the photos into folders organized by date. Date format is best when it’s set to year-month-day. This way, when the folders are arranged alphabetically, it will arrange them by year first, then month and finally day. If you set the date format to day-month-year and you have files spanning several years, it will list the days first. As a result, you could have, for example, the 1st of January of each year, then the 2nd of each year, and so on. It doesn’t seem to be very organized, don’t you think?
Going further from that, you can add the name of the event at the end of the date so it's easy to recognise when browsing through the folders. So you end up with folders whose names look something like this:

• 2015-11-05-smith-wedding
• 2015-11-11-butterfly-park-sydney
• 2015-12-25-morton-family-christmas

Keywording for Easy Searching

Software solutions like Lightroom allow the adding of keywords in the metadata of the pictures, which is also a useful tool when you don't remember the date when you took the pictures. For example, if you are a wedding photographer, adding the names of the bride and groom as keywords will let you search for the photos using the names, and you'll find them in a matter of seconds. You can also add original and edited keywords, and you can use that as a filter.

How to Back Up Photos Easily and Quickly for Peace of Mind

Backups can be done in many different ways, but the main idea stays the same: have one or more copies of the files on different drives/media in case one of the main sources fails.
But, nobody can be bothered copying and pasting files after every import. That is why network attached storages come handy, as well as RAID technology and cloud services like Dropbox.
Imagine this: You have network-attached storage which is set in RAID to have two server grade hard drives to act like clones of each other, and all that is automatically uploaded to the cloud. Sounds a little bit sci-fi, right? Actually, it is easily doable.

Photo by JaymisRAID technology allows one to make certain setups involving hard drives in order for them to work in several arrangements. You can set two hard drives to act like one in order to make the reading and writing faster (2 x 2TB drives in this setup will give you 2TB of space), or you can make them clone each other, thus providing for an active backup solution. Then, you can copy the imported files on your main drive and on your network-attached storage where you'll have them backed up on two hard drives simultaneously. The folders where you put the files will be Dropbox folders, and you will get all files on the cloud as well. However, you'll need a plan with quite a lot of space and quite good Internet speed, or your backups will be very slow.

tawalker

Backing up on Other Media

Another option (not really a good one anymore) of backing up files is to burn them on to discs, which is a decent solution if there isn't much data. However, discs aren't reliable. First of all, discs don't last forever (usually 2-5 years). Even if you take care of them, after a certain point in time, they lose the ability to store data, or the data becomes corrupted. Mechanical damage is also an issue. It is so easy to damage any discs by heat, cold, scratches, bends, dust, etc. And, of course, they take up too much space when you stack them. Having to browse through discs by hand will take time, which isn't always an option. With the previous solution, you can access everything, every time, and – if you have internet access – everywhere.
There are online solutions that do the same, some of which are more flexible than others, such as providing apps for Apple, Android, Windows Mobile, etc. Lately, there is a lot of fuss around Mylio, which, at least on paper, looks like a pretty cool solution for backing up and accessing files on the go.

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This weeks free Photography Ebook.

THE HEART OF PORTRAITURE
 EXAMPLES OF PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY BY DON GIANNATTI

 

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5 Common Image Editing Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

By Jason D. Little


Every photographer knows that after all the photos have been framed, metered, captured and transferred from memory card to computer, there’s still more work to be done.
Post production is an important part of the image making process and learning to use your preferred photo editing software effectively is the final step in realizing your photographic vision.

It’s also easy to go overboard with image editing, especially when you’re new to the process. While you’ll almost certainly refine your technique in due time, here are 5 things you should actively try to avoid when editing your photos.

Photo by Jason D. Little

Oversharpening/Too Much Detail
I know several photographers who don’t crop in post. I know fewer to don’t sharpen in post.
Sharpening your photos is how you bring all that beautiful detail to life, but if you apply too much sharpening your photos will just end up looking harsh and unrealistic. Then when you add clarity and texture into the mix, things can quickly escalate from bad to worse.
Detail is important, but pushed to the extreme it can ruin any photo. You want to add just enough sharpness, clarity and texture to give your image depth and enhance its richness.

If you see halos you’ve gone too far.

Oversaturation
Rich, vibrant colors can add interest and character to an image. Getting heavy-handed with the saturation slider, however, will result in a garish image devoid of any charm or beauty.
Yes, color is meant to “pop” but it can pop and still be subtle.
Raw photos do tend to look a bit drab when you first import them into your image editing application; it’s understandable that you would want to boost saturation. To avoid overdoing it, trying taking the saturation slider all the way down until there’s no color left in the photo, then gradually increase the the slider until optimal saturation level is achieved.

Imbalanced Exposure
You won’t nail exposure every time. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. Photo editing software is amazing in its ability to recover shadow detail and (to a lesser extent) highlight detail.
If you don’t know all that your editing application can do, however, you might simply reach for the exposure slider to fix any too bright or too dark areas. It is important to understand that this is a global adjustment, meaning it applies equally to the whole image.
When you need targeted exposure adjustments, reach for the individual highlights and shadows sliders balance things out.

The Horizon Isn’t Straight
Unless it’s part of some (possibly questionable) artistic effect you’re going for, there’s no excuse for a lopsided horizon.
Image editing software makes it incredibly simple to straighten out your horizon — it’s something that can be done in a click or two. So do it.
Unnatural Tones/Color Casts
Like colors, tones are a vital part of the image you’re creating, but tones are even more subtle than colors — when applied with some expertise.
The first place to start when dealing with the tones in an image is white balance. This is how you give your shot either a “warm” or “cool” tone. Too much of either will make your image too orange or too blue.
Then theres’s the tint slider, with which you can imbue your image with a magenta cast by sliding to one extreme, a green cast at the other. Again, you want to avoid the extremes.

Always bear in mind that post processing is immensely subjective. Everyone has different stylistic tastes and preferences. But it’s important to learn a few fundamental photo editing concepts so that you can apply them creatively and in a way that enhances all your work.

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How To Achieve Perfect Focus In Macro Photography

By Jason Row

Macro can be one of the most satisfying genres of photography. It opens up a new world of almost infinite creative possibilities. From flora and fauna to the abstract inanimate having a macro capability in your kitbag will expand your photographic repertoire immensely.
There is a problem with macro though, and it's one that can put off newcomers and experienced photographers alike. That problem is focusing. Let’s look at why.

The Difficulties of Macro Focusing 

There are two main issues that can trip you up when focussing on a macro subject. The first is depth of field. Because you are so close to the subject, usually with a moderate telephoto lens, the depth of field can be very shallow indeed. This, in turn, can lead to issues with focus, especially with a complex subject such as a multi petalled flower.
The other main issue is the magnification. Because you are shooting an image that is quite highly magnified, nailing focus, especially if hand-holding, can be extremely difficult. Any slight movement closer or further from the subject will quickly send it out of focus.
Camera shake can also be a major issue causing a lack of sharpness in macro shots, mainly due to the aforementioned magnification. Let's look at a couple of ways we can alleviate these issues.

Macro focusing can be a tricky thing to nail. By Егор Камелев

Essential Kit For Macro

A good sturdy tripod is a must. It’s also preferable to have a tripod that allows you to get down low or to move in close. Tripods with reversible centre columns are ideal for this.
Of course, to get in close you will need either a macro lens or one of the cheaper options such as reversing ring or extension tubes.

To avoid micro-vibrations when shooting, use a remote release. Some cameras also have apps which allow you to see a live preview on your smartphone and then fire the shutter remotely. Although this can be useful for shooting insects and other small wildlife, be aware there can be some lag between the app and the camera.

The macro world is not limited to flora and fauna. By Steinar Engeland

Shooting Macro In Autofocus Mode.

Autofocus is not the preferred mode to shoot macro images, but if you are not comfortable yet with manual focus, then the following are some useful tips for nailing autofocus.

• Set your AF Mode to Single Shot servo. This will prevent focus hunting if the wind is blowing your subject around.
• Select a single autofocus point rather than multipoint. Use the camera’s joystick or D-Pad to move the focus point to the desired location.
• With the camera mounted on a tripod, use the LCD screen rather than the viewfinder to attain good focus. 

While shooting macro in autofocus can give you great results, it's often better to use manual focus.

Shooting Macro In Manual Focus

Shooting in manual focus helps avoid some of the pitfalls of autofocus. These include focus-hunting and locking to the wrong part of the image. It’s best to have the camera securely locked off a tripod in order to nail your manual focus.
When focusing, turn the focus ring until the subject reaches it’s sharpest point of focus then carry on slightly beyond. Roll the focus ring slowly back confirming that you have the sharpest point.
Manual focus can be very difficult to judge. Fortunately, most modern cameras carry a number of highly useful focusing aids and tools with which to help you. Let’s take a look at them.

Shooting manual focus is the preferred option. By Boris Smokrovic

Your Camera’s Focusing Aids 

As mentioned, using the camera’s LCD screen rather than viewfinder is the best option when shooting macro. One of the primary reasons for this is the ability to zoom the screen into your subject. This, in turn, allows you to focus on your subject with much greater accuracy.
Most cameras have this facility easy to hand. It may be in the form of a magnifying glass button on the camera’s back or by pushing in the rear command dial. Check your camera’s manual to find the quickest and most convenient way to zoom your LCD.
As well as a zoom tool, some cameras offer a picture in picture view to aid focussing. In this mode, the main screen will be the usual 1:1 view but there will be a smaller zoomed view within the main screen. This is a useful mode for checking both focus and composition simultaneously.
Most cameras also show a focus scale in the viewfinders/LCDs. You can use this to determine if you are focusing at the correct distance.
Focus peaking is an extremely useful tool borrowed from the video world. In this mode, the camera will project coloured lines over the areas of sharpest focus. You can often change the thickness and colour of those lines. They are not only great for nailing focus but also very useful for determining the depth of field of the shot.

Use all your camera's focusing aids. By Breno Machado

Focus Stacking – The Macro Photographer’s Secret Weapon

Focus stacking is an extremely powerful tool for the macro photographer. It involves taking a series of images of the same subject, changing the focus position slightly as you do so. The resulting images are stitched together in an editing program such as Photoshop. The final image is one that has focus all the way through the shot despite what aperture you used.
With some forethought, you can decide how much of your macro subject you wish to be in focus and shot accordingly. There are many articles on how to merge your images together including this one here on Light Stalking.
Some newer cameras such as the Fuji X series now have a built-in focus stacking capability, called focus bracketing.
Nailing focus in your macro shots can one a major headache for newcomers to the genre. With the hints and tips above, you should be able to find spot-on focus no matter how close and magnified your subject is.

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Canon Ambassadors of Light Photographer Booted for Racist Tweet

By Kehl Bayern 
 


Modern companies are pretty averse to scandal, and it is all too easy to get embroiled in one with the prevalence and popularity of social media.

Ivandrei Pretorius from Pexels.

Canon Ambassadors of Light product ambassador Barbara Davidson is under fire for some tweets that are being called racist and the company wasted no time in exing her out of the picture as far as corporate affiliations go.


She tweeted at current Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, “You can’t even speak Spanish and you were born and raised in Texas…That speaks volumes.”
This didn’t sit well with some people who began to question Barbara’s intentions in tweeting out such a statement. After deleting the controversial tweet – which was preserved for eternity by the Internet anyway – Barbara Davidson then messaged her followers that she was taking a break from social media, not because of this controversy, but because of failing eyesight.
Before retreating entirely, she did issue this apology: “My recent tweets about Secretary Castro’s ability to speak Spanish were insensitive, ignorant, and contributed to a culture of hate playing out in this country right now, and for that I am deeply sorry…I profoundly regret my ignorance and the pain I have caused because of it.”
Nonetheless, Canon was swift in its estimation of the situation and got rid of her. When asked for comment by PetaPixel, Barbara said, “Thank you for reaching out to me. I’m glad you have my apology. Yes, Canon terminated my contract because they couldn’t risk a consumer boycott. My Twitter comments were culturally insensitive and some Castro supporters accused me of racism, so I completely understand their decision. I loved working with Canon, and it is heartbreaking to no longer have that relationship with them but I own my mistake and accept the consequences. My work speaks to who I am as a person. I feel grounded in that. I made a brutal mistake and I have to live with that.”

You can read the Twitter thread here if you are interested.
It seems like she is remorseful but still lost the Canon spot. What do you think? Was her apology enough? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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These are the Best Cameras and Lenses of 2019 According to the EISA Awards 

Michael Zhang  

 

The prestigious EISA Awards has announced its selections for the top cameras, lenses, and products for 2019-2020. After Sony dominated the mirrorless camera categories last year and won Camera of the Year with the a7 III, its competitors took top prizes with their new products this year.

The prizes are selected by technical experts from 17 leading photography publications based in countries around the world.

Camera of the Year: Nikon Z6

The Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera is the winner of the overall Camera of the Year prize. Here’s what the EISA Awards has to say about the camera:

With the Z6, Nikon has made a superb camera with sensational handling and robust build quality that delivers excellent images in almost any shooting situation. Its autofocus system includes Eye-Detection AF, allowing accurate focus wherever the subject is placed in the frame. The large and sharp electronic viewfinder provides a truly accurate preview of how your images will turn out, while in-body image stabilization helps keep your pictures sharp with every lens you can use, including F-mount DSLR optics. Quite simply, this is the best all-round camera that serious photographers can buy right now.

Here are the other Best Product winners (along with some of the explanations):
Advanced Camera: Fujifilm X-T3

Advanced Full-Frame Camera: Panasonic LUMIX S1R

Full Frame-Camera: Canon EOS RP

Compact Camera: Sony RX100 VI

Photo/Video Camera: Sony a6400

Camera Innovation: Fujifilm GFX100
“With the GFX100, Fujifilm has made a 100-megapixel medium format camera that does not suffer from the restraints usually associated with large-sensor, high-resolution systems. As the first camera of this type with in-body image stabilization, it can be used for handheld shooting under a much wider range of conditions. The spring-mounted shutter mechanism is isolated from the sensor, minimizing the risk of shutter vibration affecting the sharpness. The GFX100 is also the first medium format camera to offer on-sensor phase detection, which results in much faster autofocus. What’s more, it’s the first medium format camera to shoot 4K video with no field-of-view crop.”
Lens Innovation: Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L
“The Canon RF 28-70mm F2L USM is the first standard zoom lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras to maintain a constant aperture of f/2 throughout its entire focal length range. This allows photographers to limit depth of field to a degree previously only possible with prime lenses, and allows faster shutter speeds in low-light conditions. The image quality and sharpness are excellent throughout the zoom range, while the USM motor provides fast and reliable autofocus. The lens is a spectacular demonstration of what can be achieved with the EOS R mount.”
Photo Innovation: Sony Real-time Eye AF
“Sony’s latest real-time autofocus algorithms are a game-changer. The enhanced Real-time Eye AF focuses precisely on a person’s eyes – or even on a pet’s with the Real-time Animal Eye AF function. In continuous autofocus mode, Real-time Eye AF maintains focus on a moving subject even when part of their face is temporarily obscured or turned away from the camera. The AI-driven improvements also provide accurate and reliable tracking for moving subjects. The Real-time Tracking system recognizes the whole body, and the focus area will seamlessly change between the face and the eyes. This means sports photographers can reliably track unpredictable movements, trusting the AF system to get every shot in focus.”
Photo Software: Skylum Luminar
“Skylum’s Luminar 3, soon to witness an update to v4, is an image-editing program for Mac OS and Windows that allows photographers of all skill levels to optimise their pictures with just a few mouse clicks – and with stunning results. This is made possible thanks to artificial intelligence technology. Editing, selecting and masking are all automated, and suddenly these tedious tasks that previously could only be done manually are now achieved within a second. Experienced photographers can still make adjustments manually to get the most out of the software. It is available both as a standalone program and as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.”
Zoom Lens: Tamron 35-150mm f/2.8-4 Di VC OSD
Wide-Angle Zoom Lens: Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD
Standard Zoom Lens: Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS
Pro Standard Zoom Lens: Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
Telephoto Zoom Lens: Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM
Pro Telephoto Zoom Lens: Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM
Wide-Angle Prime Lens: Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM
Standard Prime Lens: Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L
Portrait Prime Lens: Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM
Telephoto Prime Lens: Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS
Super-Telephoto Prime Lens: Canon EF 600mm f/4 IS III
You can find the complete list of winners and comments over on the EISA Awards website.