One of Adobe’s recent feature updates to Lightroom has profound implications for photographers who retouch their portraits. While in-depth alterations are best handled in an app like Photoshop or Affinity Photo, Lightroom’s brush tool has been a good choice for basic retouching for many years. Users can dial in specific settings to help skin appear softer and smoother, or select a preset defined by Adobe. However, these retouches have typically employed the Clarity slider, which is great for a lot of situations but not exactly ideal for portraits. Thankfully, the new Lightroom Texture Slider option aims to solve this and a whole lot more.
Before I get too deep into the Texture option, it’s important to know that it’s not just for tweaking headshots. It is specifically designed to either increase or decrease the detail on textured surfaces. These can be cloth, rocks, plants, skin, or anything that has a non-uniform appearance.
If you want to smooth the texture to make a surface appear more glassy, slide the Texture option to the left. By contrast, if you want to enhance the look of any textured object, just slide the tool to the right.
Texture vs. Clarity vs. Sharpening
Texture is fundamentally different from other tools such as Clarity or Sharpening, each of which has long been a staple in many portrait photographers’ workflows. Clarity works by increasing or decreasing contrast specifically along edges, or areas of already-high contrast. It primarily affects mid-tones and not the lightest and darkest portions of an image. Sharpening makes the edges of objects and surfaces much more vivid. It has some additional parameters like Radius and Amount that can be fine-tuned to get you just the right balance.
Each of these tools has a specific purpose, and they can be used alone or together to create specific results. If you usually do basic portrait retouching by using the Brush tool and selecting the Soften Skin option, you may have noticed that it’s merely a combination of Clarity and Sharpness. Texture, on the other hand, is specifically designed by Adobe to alter the appearance of textured surfaces.
If you have traditionally done some basic retouching using Clarity and Sharpening, you might be surprised at how effective the Texture option is.
The Soften Skin brush preset in Lightroom is just a combination of -100 Clarity and +25 Sharpening.
Retouching with Texture
While you can apply texture globally by using the option in the Basic panel of Lightroom’s Develop module, portrait photographers will appreciate that it can be applied selectively using the Brush tool. Select the Brush option and then look for the Texture slider, which is right above Clarity, Dehaze, and Saturation. You can also configure parameters like Size, Feather, Flow, and Auto Mask though I would recommend leaving the latter turned off if you are editing portraits.
Click on your photograph and brush in the Texture adjustment the same you would with any other adjustment. Be careful to stay in the facial region and not brush into hair, clothing, or other parts of the image. You certainly can apply the texture brush to other elements of your picture later on, but to start with stay focused on the face.
Original image with no brush adjustments applied.
As you brush in the Texture adjustment, you will see rough areas of the skin become smooth. I recommend starting with a value between -25 and -50. This retains most of the original look of the portrait while smoothing things out just a bit.
If you have never worked with the Adjustment Brush tool, you might take a minute and look over these five tips that could speed things up or make your work a lot more efficient.
Texture -50 adjustment brush applied to the cheeks, chin, and nose.
The resulting portrait has a smoother, softer appearance where the Texture adjustment was applied. Details such as pores and wrinkles remain, and color gradients and shifting tones are also preserved.
This is much different than the results typically produced by using the Skin Smoothing option, which employs a mix of negative Clarity and positive Sharpening.
Image with Soften Skin adjustment applied to the same areas.
This third image looks as though petroleum jelly has been smeared over the camera lens. The woman’s cheeks are missing the subtle color variations from the original image. While the skin is certainly smoother, it also looks more artificial.
To show how these images look in direct relation to one another, here is a graphic that shows all three versions for three seconds at a time. First is the original, then the Texture adjustment, then the original again, and finally the Soften Skin adjustment.
You can create your own Adjustment Brush preset if you don’t want to rely on the Soften Skin preset. But if you have traditionally used the Clarity option, you may find it pleasantly surprising how vastly improved your results are by using Texture instead.
Comparison two
For another comparison, here are three more images to help you see the difference between Texture and other methods of softening skin.
The original image with no skin softening adjustments applied.
Applying a Texture -50 Adjustment leaves the pores, stubble, and small wrinkles intact but smooths them out just a bit. It’s a subtle change that doesn’t alter the original too much or make the face appear artificially smooth.
Texture -50 applied to the cheeks, chin, nose, and forehead.
A custom skin smoothing adjustment of Clarity -75 and Sharpness +15 makes the young man’s forehead and cheeks appear fake and plastic. It’s not a great look for a portrait.
Clarity -75 and Sharpness +15 applied to the same areas.
Looking at the three images sequentially shows the effect in a more pronounced fashion. The Texture adjustment gives a much more natural result while the final image seems over-processed and fake.
Conclusion
There’s a lot more you can do with the Lightroom Texture slider, and it’s useful for a wide variety of images aside from portraits. Some photographers like to reduce texture in the face and increase texture on hair and clothing for a punchier look.
My recommendation is to open up some of your images, especially portraits or headshots, and try it out for yourself. You might be surprised at how well it works.
Have you used the Lightroom Texture slider? What are your thoughts? Please share your thoughts (and images) with us in the comments section.
Many landscape photographers’ love for wilderness, drives them to venture far in search of wild and remote locations. The lure of solitude and unfamiliar scenery motivates many to photograph far off the beaten path. Adventure photography at it’s best.
Backpacking, rafting, canoeing, trekking, climbing, and other self-propelled modes of travel are a few of the ways these remote locations are accessed and used. Those adventures are often with other people and the rewards can be stunning scenery, wildlife, and of course: the wilderness experience.
On a canoe trip with my son we discovered this campsite on the shore (see image below). Earlier in the day I photographed the mountain reflecting in the lake before realizing the setting would make for a stunning photograph of a camp scene.
ISO 100, f/16, ½ second – Sparks Lake, Oregon
That experience is one reason many of us photograph! We photograph because we want to tell a story about the place we visited, what we saw, and how it looked. We do this by capturing wide views,long views and intimate details to create stunning nature images.
PHOTOGRAPHY IS AN ADVENTURE – PHOTOGRAPH IT
Photographing the landscape may be the sole purpose for some photographers heading into the wilds, but there might be another story that is often overlooked: the adventure itself. There are many photo opportunities from the scenery to the human experience that tell the story of a successful wilderness photo trip.
PLAN AND PREPARE BEFORE THE TRIP
Getting into the adventure mindset starts with pre-trip planning and determining a story line.
What is the trip about?
Who is going?
Will there be any specific events to plan for in advance?
Whenever I am preparing for an adventure I try to think like a National Geographic photographer. Their job and goal is to tell the story in pictures, in unique ways, and so is mine.
I have rafted many rivers including the Grand Canyon three times and each trip had a different group, with unique dynamics. To capture great storytelling images of an outdoor adventure, start by simply observing the other participants’ behaviour at the beginning of the trip. What will they do on the trip? Kayak, hike, climb, read, play music, or anything that you can observe and then plan to later photograph.
Next, I develop a list of photo ideas to reference during the trip. Most trip participants are not committed photographers like me, so it’s not hard to capture great images of them pursuing their interest and enjoying the adventure.
While I will photograph the scenery, all the activities like hiking canyons, cooking meals, sitting around the campfire, swimming in the waterfalls, dealing with physical challenges, and whitewater rafting through some of the biggest rapids in the U.S., are all on my mental shoot list.
ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/1000 – Grand Canyon Lava Falls Rapid
PACK THE RIGHT GEAR
Besides pre-planning the photo ops, I also plan the equipment and other gear I will need. For rafting trips I will take mostly the same gear as any other trip (when it comes to basic camera gear) keeping in mind limited space. But because it is a trip based around water I also take waterproof devices for the camera gear including Pelican cases, an underwater camera housing, and military ammo cans for accessories.
On a magazine assignment years ago, I took a horse pack trip into Hells Canyon in Oregon. The focus this time was on the outfitter himself, a cowboy (see image below, right) who ran backcountry horse trips and was also an elected official holding public office. The focus of the photography was the trip he was leading and included landscape imagery, the horses and horse packing, and the guests enjoying the wilderness adventure. I captured the adventure while the writer wrote about the politics. For my camera gear, I wore a hip pack for easy access to my camera while on horseback, while my camera backpack and tripod were tied down on a pack horse. Plan to take the right gear for the adventure.
During your pre-trip planning, start with some research on where you are going and observe how other photographers have photographed a similar trip. Make a list of the obvious: who, what, where, when, and how. This will remind you during the trip of images you had planned to capture when illustrating the story line.
Left: ISO 100, f/8, 1 second – reading by headlamp Right: ISO 100, f/8, 1/30th – rancher Steens Mountain, Oregon
The woman above was always writing in her journal or reading in the evening, so I asked her to pose and read a book. (see image above, left)
SHOOT THE ORDINARY BUT SEEK THE EXTRAORDINARY
People are the key to telling adventure stories. It is images of their behaviour and how they interact with the wilderness adventure that communicates to the viewer just what the trip was about. Photos showing their highs and lows, their pain and their exuberance, how they overcome a physical challenge, all convey a sense of adventure.
As the adventure progresses you will develop a sense of how things are moving, what people do for activities, and where and when you can setup photo ideas from your to do list. I then suggest you ask people to pose in a storytelling scenario that ideally appears natural and un-posed. Posing can be a challenge to make look real, but by suggesting to the people to just ‘be themselves and read a book’ for example often results in a more natural pose. Other times, work like a photo journalist by keeping your camera in hand and ready to capture spontaneous moments which often lead to powerful storytelling images.
ISO 100, f/8, 1/200 – Alaska river guide
Photographing an Alaskan rafting trip, I was intrigued when I saw the river guide carrying this watermelon and in particular, his method of insuring we would not lose the fruit that went with tonight’s dinner. I asked him to stop and hold still.
VISUAL APPROACHES
Look up and down and all around when choosing your camera angles and storytelling compositions. I describe the two approaches I use as Observer and Participant. The photographer as Observer captures the activity as it happens, from the sidelines. The Participant photographs the action while being a part of it. The difference is the Observer captures views easily seen by anybody while the Participant captures views more difficult for everybody to see.
This is an angle photographed as an Observer from the river bank and while effective, was easy to capture the action and the setting.
ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/1000 – Rafting Grand Canyon, Observer viewpoint
This point of view photographed as a Participant, from within the boat, is very powerful; allowing viewers to feel like they were along for the ride as the boat was tossed around in the waves.
ISO 100, f/8, 1/250 – Participant viewpoint
The advantage for the photographer as Participant is capturing angles of the activity as though the camera was their eyes. Images shot from this approach give the viewer a perspective that can make them feel as if they are immersed in the action. A rock climber taking a photograph of the climber below them offers a unique perspective of what it is like to be on the rock wall. A view that the casual observer would not see without climbing the wall.
Rafting on a winter day with intermittent snow, I was positioned in the front of the raft when a wave came over the top of me and this paddler’s expression shows her bracing for impact.
ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/60th – Participant viewpoint
ISOLATE AND ILLUSTRATE
Another effective visual approach in telling the story is to ‘isolate and illustrate’. Isolate refers to a subject isolated in the composition. They are the sole or dominant subject in the frame; the story is all about them and what they are doing. Nothing else visually is needed. These photos usually say ‘who and what’.
Here, a woman enjoying her coffee at sunrise was isolated in the composition using a telephoto lens, shot from the other side of the camp. The visual story is her and her camp. (see image below right)
Left: ISO 100, f/8, 1/320th – sunrise Right: ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/1000th – morning coffee
Captured on a 10 day climbing and photo adventure, the image above left, was shot during a hike up to watch the sunrise and it tells a story that the day is beginning. From the sun flare on the lens to the large view, this image clearly Illustrates the story of where they are and when.
The illustrated approach to a storytelling composition could be a subject much smaller in the scene in comparison to their surroundings. It’s a great approach for giving viewers the big picture and a sense of scale to the overall scene. An Illustrated image says ‘what and where’.
The example below of the illustrative approach shows a camp set among large mountains and the river. It tells the story differently by showing the size relationship between the subjects and background providing a sense of scale to the scene.
As we were hiking back to camp, I noticed the shadows on the rocks and stopped and asked them to try various poses like a high-5 and dance on the rocks.
ISO 100, f/11, 1/125th
Captured later in the afternoon, I used the Isolated approach to the composition showing the climber between the rocks. This created an image that’s all about her and what she is doing. (below left)
Hiking with a group in Utah, one hiker spotted a small frog near a pool or water and picked it up to show it. The wide angle, up-close angle tells the story of humans interacting with nature (above right).
You can also create storytelling images by adding lighting to further tell that story. Here, one of my preconceived ideas was someone reading in this comfortable wilderness cabin tent. I asked them to sit on the bed and read a book, then placed my flash behind them so it placed a shadow on the tent that told the story.
ISO 100, f/8, 2 seconds
Finally…
There is always a story to be told from any photographic adventure and if you plan to go on an expedition of any kind, large or small, plan to photograph more than just the scenery. Here are a few steps to prepare:
Plan ahead of time to make sure you have the right equipment for the adventure.
Research the type of trip you are prepping for by looking at other images and methods photographers use to document the same trip. Use those for motivation.
Let the story line you thought of be a starting point to determining the images you want to capture.
Keep your mind open to other ideas beyond those on your shot list. Often the best images were not on your to-do list.
Think like you are on a magazine assignment and work hard to capture the whole story in your own unique way.
In the end you want your story in pictures to leave viewers feeling a great sense of what the trip was like, what was experienced, and how it might have felt to have been a participant.
Have you been on any adventures? Do you have any other tips to share? Please do so in the comments below.
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Top Tips for Photographing the Best a City has to Offer in 48-hours
Always be on the lookout for interesting scenes in cities. I saw this view in Taipei from a metro
train and went back at dusk.
You have two days and two nights to photograph a city you’ve never been to before. How will you make the most of this opportunity and come away with amazing photos?
You could just turn up without much advance thought and deliver a stunning set of images that fits the brief perfectly. Leaving things to chance is not always the best plan, though. You will be better prepared and more confident if you research and plan your trip in advance.
Whether you’re working for a client, an editor, or taking photos for your own portfolio, these tips will help you make the most of your trip. Here is a guide to photographing a city and the best it has to offer in 48 hours.
Find what is unique about your destination and capture it.
What’s unique about the city?
The first question you need to ask is what makes the city unique? Does it have stunning architecture? An incredible food scene? Unique modes of transport? Vibrant markets? Make sure you keep this in mind as you plan your trip.
What types and styles of images are you being asked to deliver?
What type of shots are you, your client, or your editor expecting? Find out what their expectations are in as much detail as possible. Is there a particular style or theme you need to shoot for? Will your images be used to accompany a story on a particular subject, for advertising, or as a standalone photo essay?
Think of the final use of your photos. Will you need to capture landscape or portrait orientation photos? Do you need to shoot images with negative space to allow for text to be overlaid?
Image style is an important consideration. Is your client looking for bright, colorful photos? Images showing well-known landmarks? Hidden gems? Photos with a shallow depth of field? Moody black and white images? Photos of people experiencing the city? It’s important to get agreement on this too.
Create a mood board
Visualizing your shots before you go can help the planning process. One way you can achieve this is by creating a mood board for the trip, showing the types and the style of photos you will aim to produce. The good news is, it’s easy to do with a tool such as Pinterest.
A mood board can also be handy if you don’t have a formal brief. If you create one for yourself or your client showing the type and style of images you propose to take, this can stimulate further discussion. It might be exactly what they’re after, or it could prompt them to get involved in the process and suggest changes.
On my list of shots for Taronga Zoo was an iconic view of the Sydney with animals – thankfully,
this giraffe helped me out!
Weather and climate
The next thing to research is the expected weather and climate at your destination. Bear in mind, some destinations, such as London and Melbourne, are notorious for variable conditions all year round. Getting a sense of what to expect will help with your daily planning and can guide your choices for clothing and equipment.
For example, if you’re heading to Asia during the wet season, you’ll need to think about taking clothing and camera gear that is water-resistant, whereas if you’re on a trip to somewhere hot and dry, such as Dubai or Death Valley, you may need to consider a hat and sunscreen.
Next, look at the sunrise and sunset times for the city when you will be there and plan your day accordingly. Make a note of them and think of the most important shots you need to capture at those times. These times will also indicate the number of daylight hours you have on location.
Autumn in Sydney was a good opportunity to capture golden leaves.
Online planning resources
Two resources that can help you are the Photographers Ephemeris and PhotoPills. These handy guides for photographers also give you information like how long the blue hour and golden hour last for, the direction of the sun at sunrise and sunset, and much more. This can be very helpful, though, remember, in built-up environments, you’ll never truly know how the light falls on your scene until you’re there.
Background city research
Researching your destination is one of the most important things to do before you leave. Learn as much as you can. Potential sources of information include travel magazines, travel blogs, official tourism websites, and YouTube videos. It’s also worthwhile downloading guidebooks from companies such as Lonely Planet, or if you’re on a tight budget, you could borrow them from a friend or your local library.
As you’re doing this research, make a note of previous coverage the destination has had in published articles or photo essays. If you plan to use the same or similar angle, aim to capture the destination in a unique or better way.
Image research
Pay close attention to the types of images used to illustrate and promote this city. What style are they? Do they fall into a particular genre? What kind of lenses do you think the photographer used? This is all useful information.
Then turn to more visual references. What kind of images show up for your destination using a Google image search? Is there a famous view of the city you’d like to capture? Next, search on Instagram. Look at images used by the official city or country accounts, popular hashtags for your destination and even geolocation image searches.
Take a look at recent Instagram posts, carefully reading the description. Was the image taken in the last few days? If it was, this might help you understand the weather or lighting conditions at your destination. If there is no context to when the image was taken, it could’ve been from last month or last year.
Another key place for researching your destination is stock photography sites. What images are the best sellers for the city? Keep these in mind when you’re shooting. As well as your main client, think of other markets where you could sell your images such as stock libraries.
Always look for detail shots at your destination that show the way of life.
Create your shot list
I love travel photography as it includes so many other genres. On a single assignment, you can include landscapes, cityscapes, street scenes, portraits, food shots, detail shots, architecture, and documentary-style images. Remember this as you create your shot list.
First, lock in the locations you need to be for sunrise and sunset and have a rough plan for the rest of the day. Plot these locations on a map and make sure you’re leaving yourself enough time to look around and photograph unexpected sights. Sometimes the best shots at a destination are not the things you expect to see, but things you didn’t expect to see.
Then list the next most important shots for you or your client. Make these a priority.
Try to capture well-known landmarks in a new or interesting way. This could be through the frame of a doorway or window, a reflection, or a completely different angle or viewpoint not used before.
Jot down a reminder to get a good variety of images at each location you visit – landscape orientation, portrait orientation, images with negative space, and images that crop well for Instagram. Also, think back to why this city is unique or exotic and make a note to get images of the food, people, clothing – anything that’s different.
Booking your hotel
Now you’ve created your shot list, look at the key locations on your map, and book a hotel nearby. It can be tempting to save money by staying at a hotel further away, but being close to your proposed photography locations is a huge advantage. Not only will it cut down on travel time, but you will also have the advantage of popping back to your room whenever you like throughout the day.
Quite often when I’m photographing a city, I head back to my hotel for a break. You can have a quick rest, grab a hot or cold drink, back up your images, and review the progress you’ve made ready for the next round of photos. You may even need time to warm up or cool down depending on the weather.
With your hotel search, always be on the lookout for historic or beautiful hotels that could provide additional photographic opportunities for you. Also, remember to choose a hotel where you feel like your gear will be safe when you’re not there.
Carry a travel tripod so you can capture scenes with a slow shutter speed.
Packing your kit
Versatility is the key when packing your kit. Fast zoom lenses are generally the travel photographer’s best friend. Also, look at the notes you made during your research. What type of lenses do you think the photographers used? Does your client expect any images with a very shallow depth of field? Do they want images taken with long telephoto lenses or ultra-wide angle lenses?
Plan your kit, taking into account these considerations along with the expected weather conditions. For a two-day trip, I would typically take the following:
Two camera bodies that use the same batteries and lenses, at least one of which is weather resistant.
Two zooms covering a wide focal range, at least one of which is weather resistant.
One or two small fast prime lenses – these are very handy for low light conditions and shallow depth of field shots.
As many reliable high-quality SD cards as you have. Make sure you format them before your trip.
As many batteries as you have for your camera system.
Sydney Opera House sails with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.
Traveling to your destination
As your trip approaches, keep an eye on the weather and current events for the city you’re heading to. Will this present any issues or challenges? Is there other gear you may need to bring? As I write this, I am preparing for a few days in Hong Kong, where there are currently protests taking place. I don’t think these protests will affect my trip or what I plan to photograph, but it’s good to always good to stay up-to-date with what’s going on.
Before I arrive at my destination, I always sort out some way to use my iPhone when I get there. This can mean either having a SIM card for the country I’m visiting or setting up international roaming before I go.
On the way from the airport or train station to my hotel, I look for interesting things to photograph. I have my phone at the ready with maps loaded up tracking the journey I’m taking. If I see something interesting, I screenshot the map, so I have the exact location on my phone for future reference.
Children playing in the Faroe Islands photographed on a telephoto lens.
Once you’ve arrived
You’ve arrived at your hotel, dumped your bag and are now ready to hit the streets and tick off that shot list. Before you go, make sure you have everything you need and leave anything you won’t need at the hotel. Remember to go easy on the air conditioning or heating – extreme temperature changes can fog up your camera lenses.
Take a few minutes to double-check your camera (especially your ISO and image quality settings), make sure you have fully-charged batteries and formatted memory cards. Then synchronize the clocks on your cameras at local time.
Regardless of the time I arrive, I always try to hit the streets as soon as I can to get a feel for the place. In tropical locations, shooting conditions are not always ideal during the middle of the day when it’s very bright with the sun overhead. It’s still possible, however, to look for opportunities to keep shooting. On a recent trip to Indonesia, I found the most beautiful light in a semi-covered market place in Borobudur. I took some of my favorite shots of the trip at that market.
Borobudur Market.
After the sun is well and truly below the horizon, you may think it’s time to head back to the hotel, but always see if there are opportunities to photograph food vendors or night markets. You’ll need either a fast prime or zoom lens in conjunction with using a higher ISO to capture handheld shots or a tripod for longer exposures.
Backups
When you’re finished shooting for the day, it’s time to head back to your hotel and backup your images.
For each trip, I create a new Lightroom catalog on my laptop. I then import the images into Lightroom, specifying that the images should be copied from my SD cards to an SSD hard drive plugged into my MacBook.
After the import, I copy these folders and the Lightroom catalog to a second SSD drive. I always keep these SSD hard drives in separate locations – one with me in my camera bag, and one in my luggage. As I review my shots in Lightroom, if there are any that I think are perfect for my needs or my client, I make another backup of those select images to DropBox. When I get home, I transfer the folders and Lightroom catalog from my laptop straight to my desktop computer.
Final thoughts
I hope these tips will help you think about what you need to plan and research when you’re in a city for the first time on assignment.
Always remember, though, despite the amount of research and planning you do, things are often out of your hands. If you can’t get that iconic shot due to weather conditions, street closures, scaffolding or who knows what else, don’t beat yourself up too much about it. Instead, concentrate on other opportunities that you can capture while you’re there to make the most of your time. Do you have any other tips you’d like to share on photographing a city in 48 hours? Share with us in the comments!
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Friday, October 4, 2019
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Ready to Upgrade Your Kit Lens? Tips for Which Lens to Invest in Next
Most cameras come with a kit lens that generally works well as a decent all-around workhorse. A common focal range for these lenses is 18-55mm, which means they are capable of wide-angle shots as well as medium-telephoto pictures, and everything in between. The tradeoff for this zoom range, however, is a limited maximum aperture range of roughly f/3.5 when zoomed out (18mm), and f/5.6 when zoomed in to 55mm.
Of course some kit lenses cover a longer focal range and have different maximum apertures, but overall most kit lenses are designed for the types of all-around shooting conditions in which you may often find yourself. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it does mean that the kit lens is more of a jack of all trades while being the master of none, and after a while you might start wondering what other options are available to you and how they will affect your photography. This all begs the question: which lens should you buy when you want to upgrade from the one that came with your camera?
A 35mm or 50mm lens can work well for shooting portraits
Lenses are like apps
Think of lenses like different apps for your camera, and just as apps on your smartphone or tablet have specific functions, each lens is designed to meet a specific set of photographic needs. Next, think of the kit lens as a basic set of apps you might find on a device. It does many things well, but doesn’t really unlock the true potential of your camera. For some people, that’s fine: they don’t feel the need to install new apps (i.e. buy new lenses) and instead only use the ones that come with their device.
But when you start exploring the myriad of apps available for phones and tablets you might wonder how you ever lived with your device’s basic apps at all! The same holds true for lenses, but there is one key area where the analogy breaks down – price. When you start looking around for lenses, you might find that your vision quickly outstrips your budget! The choice, then, is this – which lens should you buy after exhausting the possibilities of the kit lens that came with your camera?
Wide-angle lenses are great for capturing photos of natural landscapes and other outdoor scenery.
Know what you need for the photography you do
The answer, unfortunately, is not as black and white as it might seem. While there are hundreds of options available, what you buy ultimately comes down to your unique needs and style as a photographer. After using your kit lens for a while, you will hopefully have an idea of what type of photography you enjoy most: landscapes, architecture, portraits, nighttime long exposures, pets, sports, weddings, etc. Or maybe you do a combination of everything! Before spending hundreds of dollars on another lens it’s important to know what will suit your needs – much in the same way that purchasing a vehicle is a matter of finding one that works for you, as opposed to simply buying the same car that all your friends have.
A lens with a wider aperture will enable you to shoot get nice blurry backgrounds that are not always possible with a kit lens.
Prime lenses pros and cons
My first bit of advice, though, is to find a prime (non-zooming) lens that can accommodate your shooting style. If you take a lot of landscape and outdoor shots, you will likely want a wide-angle lens with a focal length of around 10-20mm (for cropped sensors, 15-35mm if you have full frame). For portraits, anything between 50-100mm is a good choice. Sports and wildlife shooters tend to use lenses that are on the telephoto end, such as 100-300mm. Remember the tradeoff between zooming and aperture I mentioned in the first paragraph? If you eliminate the zoom functionality you will find plenty of lenses with much larger apertures, which will let in much more light and allow you to use faster shutter speeds, as well as capture pictures in low-light situations that might not otherwise be possible without the use of a flash.
Prime lenses can’t zoom, but you gain the ability to shoot in dimly-lit situations without the need for a flash because they often have large apertures.
It admit it can be a bit nerve-wracking to use a lens that can’t zoom in and out, but once you try it you may find a whole new world of photographic possibilities that you never knew existed, thanks to the larger aperture. Remember that you haven’t lost the ability to zoom, you can still move yourself around physically, which is another fantastic way to explore and stretch yourself as a photographer. You can often find prime lenses for a couple hundred dollars that will suit your needs exceedingly well, though even prime lenses with longer focal lengths could easily push the limits of your budget.
It might be small, but Canon’s 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens packs a big punch.
If you would like to upgrade from your kit lens but are not entirely sure exactly what your individual needs are, I would recommend one of the following. All are fairly inexpensive as far as lenses go, and will suit a variety of photographic situations, though they are not the best for sports and wildlife due to their somewhat short focal lengths:
You can buy prime lenses with longer focal lengths, but they can easily cost many times that of their cheaper counterparts. If you decide you absolutely cannot live without the zoom functionality, I would recommend going with a lens that covers one end of a focal range (i.e. wide-angle to medium telephoto) rather than one that covers both ultra-wide and ultra-telephoto. Of course this is all subjective, and there are as many opinions on this topic as there are photographers. In my experience lenses that try to cover as many focal lengths as possible are generally not as sharp as their more limited counterparts, unless you are willing to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Lenses I would recommend include:
There are also many other really good third party options available. The options are almost endless so I’ve stayed with the two big brands here, but you can also look at Sigma and Tamron who both make some really good lenses also.
Deciding
The more you are willing to spend on a lens, particularly a zoom lens, the more features it will have like: image stabilization, higher-quality glass elements, weather sealing, and larger maximum apertures. These lenses are just the beginning. The sky’s the limit when it comes to upgrading your lens, and it’s important to not overlook options like simply borrowing one from a friend, buying older gear, renting, or even looking online for used equipment. Whatever you decide, it’s important that the lens is right for you and your photography goals, but chances are if the kit lens is too limiting there is a fantastic one out there with your name on it, waiting for you to come and explore what it can do for you.
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Trump’s New Tariffs Could Drive Up the Prices of Cameras and Lenses
President Donald Trump made waves when he announced new tariffs on Chinese goods via Twitter.
Trump writes:
“Our representatives have just returned from China where
they had constructive talks having to do with a future Trade Deal…Trade
talks are continuing.”
Trump goes on to explain that “the US will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional Tariff of 10% on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products coming from China into our Country.”
...buy agricultural product from the U.S. in large quantities, but did not do so. Additionally, my friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States – this never happened, and many Americans continue to die! Trade talks are continuing, and...
...during the talks the U.S. will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional Tariff of 10% on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products coming from China into our Country. This does not include the 250 Billion Dollars already Tariffed at 25%...
In other words, certain goods will be taxed before arriving in the US.
For photographers, this is an especially painful blow.
Up to this point, photography equipment had largely managed to avoid any import taxes. But the new 10% tariff will be largely levied on electronics, including computers, phones, and camera gear. And it may cause serious consequences for American consumers of photo equipment.
You see, prices of camera products exist in a delicate balance. When the cost to import the gear goes up, prices go up with it, in order to offset the cost paid by resellers. This cost is often felt by consumers.
While companies like Canon, Nikon, and Sony are based in Japan, a significant number of their imaging products are made in China. It’s these products that will be hit by the tariffs, and it’s these products consumers should be worried about.
Trump does promise that his administration will work toward a trade deal with China. However, you should note that these new tariffs follow on the heels of previous tariffs, which left camera gear largely untouched. If the trend continues, things are likely to get worse before they get better.
Of course, this news is only relevant to American readers. Prices in countries other than the US will remain unaffected. But for photography-lovers in America, you may want to purchase any China-made camera gear now, while you can still get it for cheap.
President Trump’s tweet indicates that the new tariffs will come into effect on September 1st.
So pretty soon, prices will be on the rise. What do you think about the tariffs? Will they stop you buying new camera gear? Let me know in the comments!
Sometimes, as photographers, we don’t always have the luxury of shooting in the lovely early morning/late afternoon light. We just have to shoot in the middle of the day where the harshest light of the direct sun exists.
In the video above by Peter McKinnon, he shares his tricks on how to take better photos in direct sunlight so you don’t end up with a bunch of photos that are super-contrasty and leave your model with harsh shadows around their eyes etc.
Tips to Take Better Photos in Direct Sunlight
1. Bounce the light
You could use a reflector or bounce card. Consider using natural reflectors such as light-colored concrete. Concrete acts as a natural reflector for the sun.
2. Diffuse the light
Have someone hold a diffuser in the line of the light source coming from the sun. This will defuse the harshness of the direct sun and soften it on your subject’s face.
Find areas of shade and if
3. Use the shadows to your advantage
If you don’t have a diffuser or a friend to hold one for you and you just have to shoot in the direct sunlight, take advantage of the shadows.
Find great spots (like a staircase) that have interesting patterned shadows to create interesting effects on your subject.
4. Move your model around
Keep in mind the direction your model is facing. Have them move around, and watch how the sunlight hits their face. Have them move until you get the most flattering/even light.
