This week on Photofocus, Kevin Ames talked to Skylum’s Dima Sytnik about the impending release of Luminar 4 and Scott Wyden Kivowitz discussed what improvements could be made to one of Lightroom Classic’s newest features — multiple export. Bryan Esler debunked the rumor about Olympus shutting its doors, talking about what’s next for the camera company. Bob Coates taught us the importance of photographing what we love, and finally Lauri Novak let us into the world of vision boards.
We hope you had a great week making pictures!
Skylum’s chief product officer on artificial intelligence in Luminar 4 - On November 18, 2019, Skylum will release Luminar 4, the AI photo editing tool for anyone who makes pictures. At PhotoPlus in New York, I talked with Dima Sytnik, chief product officer and co-founder of Skylum about the new artificial intelligence tools in Luminar 4. Four AI tools for faster photo editing Interview transcript Hi. I’m Dima Sytnik. I’m a chief product officer at Skylum, and I’m one of the co-founders of the company. I’m responsible for Luminar 4 development and new technology research. We’re working with engineers to bring you the best technologies possible to make your photo editing workflow flow easier and faster than ever. The new technological advances in Luminar 4 is our new AI engine. We call it Artificial Intelligent Engine Skylum 2.0 and we have 4 AI-powered filters in Luminar 4, which is very unique to the market. It’s AI Sky Replacement, AI Skin Enhancer, Portrait Enhancer, and AI Structure. So, photographers now can achieve the results much faster and much easier than before, but the quality is very high. It’s a quality of high professional photo retouchers and it’s available for everyone. AI Sky Replacement The first technology is AI Sky Replacement. It’s an AI-powered tool to replace the sky, even with the most complex cases, with a lot of semi-transparent objects. We’ve been working on this technology for two years, and now we’re ready to launch it. With this technology, everyone can replace the sky and have very realistic images in seconds, and everyone can use even their own sky to create something great in a very easy way. AI Structure The second technology is AI Structure. It’s very smart technology to improve local contrast and structure an image, but it’s very smart because it’s content-aware. This tool looks at the image and the text where is the best areas to extract details to create the most pleasing image for the human eye, and it’s very awesome because you don’t have to use any brushing or masking or care about extra noise or halos. With just one slider, you can get great, high-professional results, and the image will stay realistic but just get this extra punch of detail, and everyone can make it in a very easy way. Kevin Ames: Will AI Structure make skin look crunchy? Dima: No, it’s very smart. It knows where is person, where is skin, so it works very intelligent with the sky, with the building, with the structure, with the water, and apply different adjustments for different objects because it’s content-aware. (AI Structure affects the hair and painted skin but leaves the model’s face untouched. Look closely at the dirt on the model’s chest. It is part of the look. AI Structure makes it grittier yet the skin on her face remains as smooth as it is in the before example) AI Skin Enhancer [The] third technology is AI Skin Enhancer. So, we made a very great technology to achieve high-quality, professional results of skin retouching in seconds thanks to AI-powered technologies. Our AI technology is able to detect full-body skin and automatically retouch everything in seconds, and you’re able to remove all the skin blemishes and imperfections with just one click. The result is amazing. We keep all the sharp objects like hair, eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips untouched. Keep all the pores, but remove all imperfections with just one slider, and the quality is equal to the quality of high-professional re-touchers that are available on the market. Portrait Enhancer The last technology is Portrait Enhancer. It’s a very easy way to not just improve skin, but to edit your portrait to make them much more beautiful because portrait retouching is actually all about making the portrait look natural but more beautiful. With this technology, you don’t have to use manual selection of the faces or face features. AI does it for you. You just have to select what kind of style they want to have with your face. You can enhance eyebrows and eyes. You can widen the face, you can enhance mouths, you can actually slim the face, and get these results in seconds. It’s great technology, and as the previous technology, can synchronize this adjustment and get much more beautiful portraits in seconds. Kevin: Does Luminar 4’s AI technology require the cloud, or is it local? Dima: All Luminar has a lot of different AI technologies, but all of them will work just on your machine. We used the pre-trained AI models, and your images will stay yours. They will not be uploaded in the cloud, and all processing will be done on your machine, so that’s why we need more resources from your computer, but you can be safe about your privacy. I was really excited to tell you all about all these features that we have for you, and I hope you’ll like them. Photos: ©Kevin Ames (Replacement skies courtesy of Skylum Software.) Haven’t pre-ordered Luminar 4 yet? Click here to get started and receive our free Luminar 4 Photofocus Bundle!
Lightroom Classic multiple export is great, but could be better - With Lightroom Classic 9.0, you can export one image, or a batch of images, using multiple export presets. This new feature is a huge time saver in some aspects. It’s fantastic, but not perfect and many things could improve it. For example, when you begin checking off multiple presets to export with, you will notice a message stating that the post-processing and other modules created by plugins, like JPEGMini Pro, will not be used. So straight away, one improvement would be to support both of those things. But I have my idea that I would hope Adobe can implement because it is something I hear is already inside of Premiere Pro for video exports. AI is so smart as it related to images. I think Skylum, ON1, Topaz and Adobe have proved this over the years. One thing that is possible, but not often utilized, is smart cropping during export. Meaning, the software would analyze the image for the proper crop point — for example, a person’s face or a flower. During export, the software would automatically crop for the subject and export at whatever dimensions specified. The way this would work well in Lightroom’s multiple preset exporting is as follows: You create a bunch of presets for social media sizes You turn on smart cropping in the presets You select a batch of photos to export You choose all the presets for social media sizes Lightroom will smart crop, using AI, each photo at the specified dimensions The result would be a folder of images all named according to its preset specification, sized for the specified platform, and cropped, so the subject is still in the frame. No heads cut off, no stems without flowers, and so on. Of course, as professional photographers, we still want to crop how we visualize it manually. But for some work, like personal brand photography, having a quick method for exporting and cropping would be a huge time saver. I’m sure this would be amazing for other genres of photography, as well. Do you think Adobe should build this into Lightroom? What else would you like to see from the Multiple Preset Export feature? Lead photo by Ben Koorengevel
No, Olympus isn’t shutting its doors - UPDATE: After more rumors, Olympus has come out with a more clarified statement. Click here to read the full statement. In fact … Olympus — which is celebrating its 100th year in business — is far from closing. This wasn’t going to be my original title to this article. But after seeing a rumor earlier this week about Olympus closing its camera division in Q1 2020, I felt that the narrative had changed slightly and that this rumor needed to be addressed. I met with the Olympus team at PhotoPlus in late October, to discuss the company’s latest release as well as what’s on the horizon for them. But before we get to that, here’s the official statement from Olympus: “Olympus Imaging products play an important role as technology drivers for all Olympus business lines, including the advanced digital technologies used in Olympus’ Medical, Industrial and Scientific businesses. Olympus does indeed plan to continue to develop its imaging product lines, bringing products to life that embody Olympus’ core benefits, including system compactness and superior lens optics.” If that Olympus statement doesn’t satisfy you, how about this? Olympus is releasing a new camera later this month — the OM-D E-M5 Mark III — and a new lens next year — the 150-400mm f/4.5. The company also relocated operations away from China and to its Vietnam plant in Spring 2018, as it had upgraded equipment, allowing Olympus to maintain its competitiveness. Why would a camera company shut down their operations if they have put all those resources into their brand? Now that we have put that rumor to bed … let’s talk Olympus, the OM-D line and micro four-thirds. Recapping 2019 For Olympus, 2019 started off with a bang. The company launched its pro-centric OM-D E-M1X in February, a micro four-thirds mirrorless camera body that took the look of what you’d expect from a DSLR. With a built-in battery grip and more buttons than any Olympus camera before it, this camera was built for the serious pro. It featured enhanced autofocus capabilities for both stills and video, better low light performance, state-of-the-art weather sealing, a new AI tracking capability … the list goes on. You can see my in-depth review of the E-M1X here. With that camera, Olympus was clearly targeting a specific audience. While most enthusiasts didn’t like the idea of the company making a larger camera, the company knows it was the right thing to do. It filled a gap in their lineup. “When we introduced the E-M1X last year, some people told us, ‘that’s not small.’ But our lineup is small for the features and for the purpose,” said Vice President of Sales & Marketing Aki Murata. “[The E-M5 Mark III] is the most versatile product. You can bring it anywhere. On the other hand, the E-M1 line, you might need two SD card slots or other pro features for certain types of photography. It really depends on the customer which one fits your needs.” Along with the E-M1X, Olympus also released a new flash and trigger system and announced the development of the 150-400mm f/4.5, set to ship sometime in 2020. Fast-forward a few months, Olympus announced the OM-D E-M5 Mark III camera, the latest update to its mid-tier camera body. While the camera got a spec bump, many were surprised at the amount of pro-level features that Olympus included, which was standard in its E-M1 Mark II and E-M1X camera bodies. You can see my in-depth review of the E-M5 Mark III here. Sticking to its roots While the E-M1X was certainly a much larger camera than Olympus had produced recently, it still kept a rather small, lightweight footprint, when compared to its competitors. Pick up a Canon 1DX or Nikon D6 and you’ll find the E-M1X is significantly lighter — especially when lenses are attached. While it was larger than the E-M5 and E-M1 lines, the E-M1X was still smaller than its full-frame counterparts. The reasoning? Well, it all goes back to the roots of the company, which from day one has prioritized a smaller, lighter and more compact system. In my interview with Murata last fall, he mentioned Olympus’ roots with the creator of the OM system, Yoshihisa Maitani. “[Maitani] said three things. We should provide ultimate reliability, a compact system and a lightweight system. This will differentiate us. He said we should be very unique, and stand out from others that way.” That same philosophy drives Olympus today, as posted on the company’s website: “For eight decades, Olympus’ camera business has pursued a philosophical emphasis on ‘smaller and lighter.’ Since the introduction of the Olympus PEN, a prototypical half-sized camera released in 1959, Olympus has introduced a long line of innovative cameras boasting unprecedented compactness and low weight, all built to uncompromising manufacturing standards. To this day, Olympus continues to emphasize smaller and lighter based on the enduring truth that greater mobility means greater user convenience.” Today, Olympus is driving this point home, with its new Break Free campaign, which prioritizes creativity, flexibility and originality. Talking micro four-thirds Olympus knows that micro four-thirds isn’t perfect — no sensor system is. There’s always talk about the apparent “limits” of the micro four-thirds system. But the company is tackling this by advancing its software technology to minimize these concerns. “Like we have been saying, our direction hasn’t changed,” said Murata. “We’ll stick with micro four-thirds. The reason is simple — we believe that smaller, lightweight is needed for many of our users. We want to stick to one formula. “We understand there are limitations [with micro four-thirds], but this won’t always be the case. Technology evolves. We believe the current limits will not be present in the future. It’s important to have a smaller, lightweight system with great lenses.” And what about full-frame? With seemingly every camera maker on board the full-frame train, Olympus has decided to stay put with micro four-thirds. “With all of these companies, there’s a certain amount of money they have for R+D
What’s all this talk about vision boards? - In the last several years, my friend and mentor, Ron Clifford, who runs a Thriving Photographers group on Facebook, has challenged group members with creating their own vision boards. I was hesitant at first for a few reasons, but the biggest reason is that I personally have an aversion to making plans and goals and sticking to them. But I was open to trying … so I did! What’s a vision board? It’s pretty much what it sounds like. You take your vision and put it on a piece of poster board. Simple, right? Well, maybe not quite that simple but in general terms that’s what it is. To create your vision board you gather up your thoughts, hopes, dreams and what you want for yourself, and find images that reflect those. Get out your old magazines, print images from the internet, grab your scissors and start cutting out those images you find that show you what you want. Trips, travel, fame, fortune, income, a big project you want to do, that one idea that’s been in your head for years — all of these things will go on your vision board. Let me break them down a bit. Goals We all have them. Whether we visualize, vocalize, write them down or just keep them to ourselves they are there to give us something to reach for. Putting your goals, all of them or maybe one large one that seems just out of reach, on your vision board will help keep it in front of you, make you think about it, even work on it more than if it’s not visible. Dreams This is a fun one to add to your vision board. Think about the possibilities, what dreams do you have, what would you do if money were no object? What are those things you’ve always dreamt you could do, or who you always dreamt you could be? Where are the places you’ve always dreamed of going? Nothing is too big to imagine. Take your dreams and multiply them. Dream HUGE! Road map I’m sure you’ve heard this before; if you have no end destination you won’t know how to get there. With a vision board, you take control and create your destinations. You can see where you want to go and take the steps to get there. You can be able to recognize when something happens in your life that leads you in the direction of one of your dreams or goals and be able to act on it. I created my vision board, now what? Put your goals and dreams in front of you. Ultimately your vision board should be a physical poster board with your cut out images pasted on it. I realize in this technologically heavy world we live in that we don’t always have magazines laying around anymore. If it’s really not possible to make a physical board, create an electronic one — an “e-vision board” if you will. That’s what I did, then I made it my desktop wallpaper so I see it every single day. Outcomes Personally, with my two years of creating vision boards, not everything happens but quite a few things I had on my boards did happen. On my first vision board I added a gallery show, trips to Amsterdam and Berlin and quitting my ‘real’ job. All of those things happened. Yes, there were other items that didn’t, but they are in the works, still on my radar and I’m still working on them. My next vision board included Antarctica, a huge dream trip that I never thought would be possible. Guess where I went? I led my first photography tour, I mentored other photographers and there was a bit more travel, all of which were items on my second vision board. A vision board helped me focus a little bit more on what I really wanted, because it was there, because it made me stop every so often and think about what I was doing, question myself about what I was working on and if it were helping me to get where I wanted to go. It made and makes me think. Ron Clifford’s story Here’s Ron’s story about how he got started with vision boards: “I made my first vision board in early 2015 and I did it rather reluctantly. After all, aren’t vision boards for dreamers and in the realm of woo woo wishful thinking? But alas, I found myself challenged to at least give it a try and after committing to it, I set out with scissors and glue and poster board and went old school on it. On it was travel as a guide to Antarctica, to do a Ted talk, to have a studio with old wooden floors, travel to Africa, presenting to audiences, CreativeLive and quite a few other things. Within a few days of completing the vision board, a future trip to Antarctica became a reality and over time, everything and more listed above came true. Except I haven’t been on CreativeLive …… yet …… “It turns out I was wrong (don’t tell my wife I admitted that). It isn’t woo woo or wishful, it sets in place your intentions and creates a visual benchmark to give your faith something to move toward. I am now a believer in the power of vision boards to help people have something to believe in, and move toward. There is so much more to them than dreams and wishful thinking.” When to create a vision board Ron reminded me that there is no good or bad time to do this. It does not have to be a yearly thing and it does not have to start in the new year. Like anything that will help you move toward your dreams and goals, any time is a good time. Goals and dreams are fluid and they do not necessarily have deadlines. There are no rules other than to dream huge, as I said
Making images: Believe in yourself - Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Preserve is a favorite place of mine to photograph large waterfowl. Each year during the annual migration you can find a spectacle that is somewhat unrivaled. Thousands upon thousands of Sandhill Cranes make the Bosque a stopover. In addition, tens of thousands of White Snow Geese litter the landscape as well. This is the site of a marketing story for my artistic photography images. Photograph what you love Dennis Chamberlain, a fellow photographer based in New Mexico, invited me to join him on a photoshoot at Bosque del Apache. (Click here to see Dennis’s artistry work.) He noted my new love for photographing wildlife. We went to the preserve in November 2016. Waking at ‘O-dark-thirty’ in the freezing cold making images during sunrise until the birds scattered and the light became a bit harsh. Then we were off to breakfast. Back to the room to download and review the morning captures. Return to the Preserve for sunset photography capturing the fly-in of the birds. Dennis and I did this replayed this scene for four days. Did I mention it was cold? Really cold for me. Did I also mention it was early? Did I tell you I loved it anyway? I enjoyed it so much that we did it again in 2018. The marketing part of the story I noticed that the Festival of the Cranes produced a magazine-style brochure. I decided to look into providing the art image for the cover. Research showed that a contest is run each year to decide the cover art. I immediately started work on putting together a submission. I sent in a few images for consideration. The art I’ve been working toward adding a watercolor look to my artwork and thought this might be a good opportunity to practice. As you probably know I use personal projects to push my learning forward. I sent in three watercolor-style images and received a call asking if I could make some minor adjustments to one of them. No problem, I create custom work. With the yes, the cover was mine. Tell a friend Here’s a little motivation tip. In order to put a little extra pressure on myself I told my friend, Dennis, “I’m going to work to be on the cover of the Festival’s brochure.” Telling other people about my plans has always had the effect of keeping me on track to complete the attempt. Doing this is akin to having an accountability partner. It helps you push to attain your goals. Results Getting the cover means I was named Festival Featured Artist. The winning image appears on the cover, T-shirts and coffee mugs that help fund the Festival. I get lodging during the event and a booth to sell my art. This is a win-win for the Friends of the Bosque and myself. In addition, I get the promotional material for my business. If you are at the Festival please be sure and say “Hi!” Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
