In this article, I review the new Brother AirScouter WD-300C Head-mounted Display, that I have been using for the last 3 weeks. In much of my commercial drone work, I am a single operator drone pilot. That means I am having to control the drone and the camera simultaneously. That translate into looking down at my tablet and back up to the drone, so I can fly safely and still get the shot. I am finding that using a headset even helps me do a better job when I am piloting and have a second operator controlling the camera because I can see what … [Read more...] about Becoming a Better Drone Pilot: Brother AirScouter WD-300C Head-mounted Display Review
tutorial
How to Enhance Your Photos With Textures – Part 1: Adding Textures
In photography a texture image or "texturing" is used to enhance or accent some part of the image in your digital darkroom. Although they can help you create eye-catching works of art, textures also can be very easy to overdo. In this article I'll explain my process for adding textures to my photography using Adobe Stock and Photoshop to create more impact, transform the mood of the image, or improve the composition. Origins Using textures originated in the days of film by using different techniques in the darkroom. Methods included … [Read more...] about How to Enhance Your Photos With Textures – Part 1: Adding Textures
Lights, Colors, Fractals
I shot this photograph at WPPI in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. I was at the ClickProps Studio Backdrops booth. This company makes over 500 backdrops in various designs and sizes, and we got to test out a number of them. This photograph was shot against the "Brick Natural" backdrop. Our shooting space that was only about 5 feet by 10 feet. A Collaboration Between Two Photographers The photograph was a collaboration between 2 photographers: the model, Kat Armendariz of Hush Hush Shoot Studio in Las Vegas and me. Kat is one of Las Vegas's … [Read more...] about Lights, Colors, Fractals
How to D.I.Y. a Snoot & Grid
What is a snoot? A snoot is just a funny name for a piece of equipment, generally a tube or similar objects such as a conical, cylindrical, or rectangular shape, that fits over a studio light or portable flash. It allows you to control the direction or area of coverage of the light. Basically, it makes the light more focused and concentrated by directing your light and focusing it. This makes the coverage very narrow and the light falls-off very sharply giving you a harsher or harder light. Adding a Grid Personally, I like the snoot and grid … [Read more...] about How to D.I.Y. a Snoot & Grid
Rediscovering a lens that I already owned
When packing for trips, I find myself seesawing between my Fuji X system and Nikon DSLRs. We do underwater, street, nature and landscape photography. Do I pack the Fuji X-Pro2, the crop sensor Nikon D500 and my old D800 or complicate things and buy the new Nikon D850? Earlier this winter, we were packing for street and winter nature and landscape photography in Japan. My wife and partner in Aperture Photo Arts is a die-hard Fuji shooter and between us, we have most of the Fuji X lenses and spare camera bodies. This was the logical … [Read more...] about Rediscovering a lens that I already owned
How to Make Your Photos Look Great with Curves Layers in Luminar
Curves layers are one of the most misunderstood, yet more powerful adjustments you can make. Our images are all made up of pixels, which each have values for color and luminosity. With Curves adjustments, we can remap the pixels' values for these, changing them to be brighter or darker, or changing their color. In Skylum Software's Luminar you can add multiple curves filters, and make each layer target very specific parts of your image. This will give your images more depth, dimension, and beautiful color. Add Luminosity and Color … [Read more...] about How to Make Your Photos Look Great with Curves Layers in Luminar
Becoming a Better Drone Pilot – The Preflight Checklist
There are a lot of things remember when you're flying a drone. If you're shooting video and/or photographs, then there are even more things to remember and set. Having a preflight checklist makes this much easier. Here are some of the things to check on the ground, prior to takeoff and immediately after takeoff, while in the air. Note that some of these options depend upon which drone you're flying. Remember that whether you are a recreational pilot or Part 107 commercial pilot, you are responsible for checking and setting up the drone so … [Read more...] about Becoming a Better Drone Pilot – The Preflight Checklist
Becoming A Better Drone Pilot – Learning To Fly With Precision & Confidence Part 4 – ATTI Mode
Welcome to part 4. If you haven’t read and practiced Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this article, I recommend you do that before proceeding. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here. Warning! You could crash your drone when practicing these maneuvers. Note: the Mavic Pro does not have ATTI mode on the Flight Mode Switch. ATTI mode is the most challenging mode to fly in because you’re no longer using GPS to lock the drone’s position. and there’s also no obstacle avoidance systems active in ATTI mode. That means it isn’t going to warn … [Read more...] about Becoming A Better Drone Pilot – Learning To Fly With Precision & Confidence Part 4 – ATTI Mode
Becoming A Better Drone Pilot Part 3 – Learning To Fly With Precision & Confidence
Welcome to part 3. If you haven’t read and practiced Part 1 and Part 2 of this article, I recommend you do that before proceeding. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Warning! You could crash your drone when practicing these maneuvers. That being said, don’t go into this practice thinking you’ll crash. Go slowly. Take your time. Don’t push faster than you’re able. And don’t let others push you beyond what you know are your limits! Preparation We are going to use the same preparations as in Part 1. You can review that here. At … [Read more...] about Becoming A Better Drone Pilot Part 3 – Learning To Fly With Precision & Confidence
Live Webinar: Picture Perfect Retouching with Roberto Valenzuela
You gotta join us live for our next Live Webinar, totally free of charge. Not only will you learn terrific techniques, but if you tune in live, you can be entered to win excellent prizes to help you in your work. (Note: MUST BE TUNED IN LIVE TO WIN). We'll be giving away a copy of Perfectly Clear from Athentech. Plus you never know what else. We kick off Tuesday, December 5th at 1:00 pm Eastern, 12:00 pm Central, 11:00 am Mountain, and 10:00 am Pacific. 2 pm in the Virgin Islands. Check out the YouTube event here and it'll show your … [Read more...] about Live Webinar: Picture Perfect Retouching with Roberto Valenzuela
How to Finish Your Wild Animal Photos With Tone Mapping
Funny thing about animals is they move around, a lot. So a technique like HDR, which requires several images that are nearly identical in everything but exposure values, is usually not an option for wildlife photographers. Often thought of as mainly a tool for landscape and architecture photography, High Dynamic Range photography captures a series of shots at multiple exposures to provide detail in both highlights and shadows which a camera cannot capture in one frame. But, in the case of a running horse or flying bird, even at high shutter … [Read more...] about How to Finish Your Wild Animal Photos With Tone Mapping
Adventure in Color and Tone – Lightroom vs Photoshop
Editor's Note: This is an advanced tutorial. For a detailed explanation of these techniques, Lee is sharing see his post on LAB Masking. Everyone would agree that a great photo starts with a great capture—good composition, good light, good exposure, and a certain ineffable quality of magic that comes together at the moment the shutter is released. However, a great photo is not really finished at the moment of capture. That capture, however great it is, exists as pure potential until it is rendered viewable to an audience. Many times the full … [Read more...] about Adventure in Color and Tone – Lightroom vs Photoshop
How to Remove Noise with a Luminosity Layer in Aurora HDR 2018
HDR (High Dynamic Range) processing of your photos by its nature can result in a lot of noise or graininess in your final image. While Macphun's new Aurora HDR 2018 for PC's does a great job overall reducing noise, there are still times when noisy areas appear in your processed HDR. This can be caused by many reasons, but most commonly it's due to your settings in camera (such as shooting at too high of an ISO) or any image processing you have done to your images before merging them in Aurora (such as exposure adjustments). Regardless of the … [Read more...] about How to Remove Noise with a Luminosity Layer in Aurora HDR 2018
Lab Luminosity Masks
Editor's Note: Lee presents a very powerful way of enhancing color and sharpening an image in this post. The video that concludes this post is an excellent tutorial with step by step instructions and explanations. These are advanced techniques. Here I submit, for your consideration, this step-by-step video on using Lab channels as the source for luminosity masks. This type of masking is all the rage right now, and you can find many tutorials about the general procedure all over the internet. There are even action that automatically generate … [Read more...] about Lab Luminosity Masks
Avoid These Tripod Trip Ups!
Most photographers will tell you that a good tripod is one of the most important equipment investments you can make for your photography. But, just owning one isn't enough to give you better pictures. You have to have the right one to fit your photography, as well as know how to use it properly. For as much time as we spend discussing and dissecting our settings, we often don't think about the physical mechanics of how we take pictures. Over the years of running photo workshops and pursuing my own photos, I have seen many mistakes and … [Read more...] about Avoid These Tripod Trip Ups!
Review: The Impact Quikbalance 12″ Gray Panel for Correct White Balance in Camera
Many agree that one of the most vexing things about photography is getting your exposure and white balance correct in camera. Sure, you can fix it in the post-processing phase if you shoot in RAW (and I generally recommend that you shoot in RAW. It makes all the difference in the world). Still, if you could make your life easier, cut down on your workload, and make sure your photos look consistently great, then wouldn’t you go that route? Seems like a no-brainer to me. That’s why I’m going to review the Impact Quikbalance 12" Gray Panel. … [Read more...] about Review: The Impact Quikbalance 12″ Gray Panel for Correct White Balance in Camera
Breaking Away From Auto White Balance: Setting Custom White Balance in Mixed Lighting
Breaking away from the standard white balance settings in your camera can be intimidating, but so worth it. Once you learn how to set your own custom white balance, you will wonder why you never tried it before. It’s an effective way to streamline your workflow and ensure consistency with a given batch of photos. Today's tutorial will focus on doing just that. Setting Your Custom White Balance In order to get our white balance correct, we'll be using a handy compact tool called The Impact Quikbalance 12" Grey Panel. It's all of 12 inches, … [Read more...] about Breaking Away From Auto White Balance: Setting Custom White Balance in Mixed Lighting
Two Heads Are Better Than One – How to Deal with Bad Expressions
How to deal with the unfortunate facial expression in group portraits Ah... it's that time again! The time when we are challenged to capture the idealized family portrait to send out to friends and family. To help you along, I'd thought I'd share a technique for a common problem with group portraits. Most of the time, but especially with shots including babies, if you have more than one person in the shot, someone is not going to look as good as the others in the shot. The example below shows two images from a recent photo shoot I did of my … [Read more...] about Two Heads Are Better Than One – How to Deal with Bad Expressions
First Impressions of the New Aurora HDR 2018 for Windows
Until recently, I’ve felt a little left out when it comes to the Macphun line of photo editing and effects software. I’m a Windows guy, a sometimes lonely place to be in the oft Apple dominated world of graphic design and photography. Until this year Macphun software wasn’t available for us PC’s. I figured Macphun’s software would always remain out of reach until Macphun released Luminar for Windows earlier this year. So, I tried it. And liked it. A lot! Getting a chance to take the new Beta version of Aurora HDR for a spin, I was cautiously … [Read more...] about First Impressions of the New Aurora HDR 2018 for Windows
Mirrorless Camera Maniac: Tips For Shooting The Milky Way
Photographing the Milky Way is remarkable because what you see on your camera is magnitudes more intricate than what you can visualize with your eyes. I was teaching a workshop in Montana the other day, and we took advantage of the big, clear, dark skies and it was so much fun to see people ooh and ahh over the images appearing on their cameras. With Autumn around the corner, it's a terrific time to take advantage of earlier sunsets and cool clear skies before the winter makes it a lot more difficult to stay out at nighttime. Here are some tips … [Read more...] about Mirrorless Camera Maniac: Tips For Shooting The Milky Way
Flowers Made Easy
Here is an easy way to photograph flowers indoors, without using fancy lighting techniques requiring studio lights or off camera flash with modifiers. All you need is indirect light through a window, a shooting table, and a silver or white reflector. Impact Desktop Shooting Table Shooting tables are great for photographing products, food, and small objects. I recently used my Impact Desktop Shooting Table to photograph flowers. The table is convenient and easy to use (and affordable). When photographing the flowers I actually placed the … [Read more...] about Flowers Made Easy
How to Use a Digital Projector as a Glamour Spotlight
An Alternative to Focusing Fresnel Spot Light with the Benefit of Easy Custom Shapes I have been experimenting with digital projectors as a light source in my Glamour Photography Workshops. If you don't have access to large movie hot lights with focusing fresnel lens systems, a digital projector provides a wonderful simulation! You can create any imaginable shape to project in Photoshop and use the projector like a light source. The example below was created by strapping the projector to a platform attached to a light stand - this accessory … [Read more...] about How to Use a Digital Projector as a Glamour Spotlight
Quick Trick in Adobe Lightroom to help find Sensor “Spots”
Tell me if this has ever happened to you. You've been on the road for a while, changing your lenses out over and over, and then came across the most perfect sunset landscape setting ever. So you take the most epic shot of this moment and head home to edit and share! Well, once you get home and load the image up on your computer, you notice it's riddled with spots!!! Well, fear not, that shot may need a lot of work, but the folks at Adobe have provided an awesome tool in Lightroom CC to help you see just how bad your camera needs a … [Read more...] about Quick Trick in Adobe Lightroom to help find Sensor “Spots”
ACDSee Ultimate 10 – How To Get Your Photos Organized With Categories
How would you describe the subject in this photo? As a Fox, a Red Fox, or Vulpes vulpes? Baby, pup, or kit? Animal, mammal, canine, vulpine? The answer is all of them, and more! With wildlife photography there are many ways to classify and describe an animal. As your image portfolio grows, it becomes more and more important to have a good system for categorizing and keywording your photos so that once you have found a home on your hard drive for them you can find them again. This way you can find your images and get the right ones to those who … [Read more...] about ACDSee Ultimate 10 – How To Get Your Photos Organized With Categories
Tutorial: Using CFL’s to Keep Cool on your Video Set
No matter what you're filming, you always need to light your set for your video production. Regardless if it's outdoors in the sun, or indoors in a dark small space...you're going to need some light to fill in your subject matter somehow. One way to do this without overheating your talent or subject matter, is by using a CFL or Continuous Fluorescent Light! Traditionally and historically, we've used Tungsten based Hot lights for production work, but as you might have guessed from their name, they do give off a lot of heat, causing some … [Read more...] about Tutorial: Using CFL’s to Keep Cool on your Video Set
How to Light Close-up Flower Photos with a Flashlight
Summer is Here - Time for Flower Photography I just thought I'd share a quick little lighting technique for your flower photography. Now that spring is past and summer is here, it is almost mandatory that, as photographers, we document the emergence of dormant life in the form of flower portraits. I have some lovely Amaryllis, just now blooming at my windows, and these make great subjects for close-up photography... It is very easy to get great close-up shots with limited depth of field, soft pastel colors, and gorgeous semi-abstract … [Read more...] about How to Light Close-up Flower Photos with a Flashlight
Custom White Balance
Light has color. The low angle of the sun at sunset creates warm tones. A cloudy day, with the lack of sun, creates cool tones. The color of light is also affected by objects reflecting the light. So, if you are photographing a little girl standing under a tree in the forest the girl’s skin tone may have a green cast due to the light filtering through the leaves of the tree. When you adjust your camera for white balance you are compensating for the color of light that is affecting your photograph. White Balance Options If your camera has a … [Read more...] about Custom White Balance
Headshots on Location
Headshots can be tricky when shooting on location, near home or when you are traveling. The light can be all wrong. Lighting equipment can be bulky or heavy to carry. An “assistant” may be needed to help hold reflectors. There may not be a lot of time to “set up the shot”. Using a Ringbox A ringbox flash adapter similar to the Vello Ringbox is a convenient, easy to use lighting alternative to traditional soft boxes, reflectors, and umbrellas. It is also a good choice for photographers inexperienced with the nuances of photographic lighting … [Read more...] about Headshots on Location
Creating a Scene with Photoshop, Adobe Fuse and Project Felix
It used to be that, if you wanted to use Photoshop for 3D images you'd need to invest in Photoshop Extended. Now however, 3D capabilities comes as standard but that doesn't mean it's any easier to understand or use straight out the box. To help us 2D people Adobe have made available two great applications, Fuse and Project Felix. https://youtu.be/hprjuA_WuUM In This Video Tutorial In this tutorial I take an image from Adobe Stock and 2 Fuse characters into Project Felix where I add a 3D suitcase. Then its back to … [Read more...] about Creating a Scene with Photoshop, Adobe Fuse and Project Felix
Getting Out of Your Photography Comfort Zone: A Nature Photographer Wanders into a Studio
I made it a goal this year to learn something way outside of my photography comfort zone of the great outdoors. After my first plan for a project exploring "underwater fine art nude food photography" fell through (apparently, Thanksgiving dinner was not the place to jump-start this idea), I decided to take a workshop on studio model photography. Yes, that is correct. Me. Indoors. In a studio. With models. Gasp... Let's face it, I am a lot more comfortable waist deep in a swamp filled with ‘gators than in a studio! Fortunately, a few weeks … [Read more...] about Getting Out of Your Photography Comfort Zone: A Nature Photographer Wanders into a Studio
