Most of the time the subject of the a photo is easy to see – whether it’s a portrait, landscape, travel, or architecture. While these subjects are easy to identify, the use of shadows in these topics is not discussed as often as it should be. We spend so much time trying to get the lit portion of our images in focus, composed to our satisfaction, making sure things are sharp, and all the rest, we sometimes miss the value of shadows in our imagery.
The shadows of an image can be just as important to the composition as the lit parts are. When talking about how to light images with strobes and studio lights, the use of shadows to give definition is often discussed, but the same discussions can be germane to naturally lit photos too. Remember, the word photography means to paint with light (photo and graphos), so even the absence of light can be significant in defining our images.
Whether you shoot portraiture, architecture, landscapes, or even abstracts, shadows can and do play a role in how you compose your images. Do you look at the shadows in your images? What story do shadows tell in your work?
Share your own thoughts on how to accomplish a story by shooting with shadows below in the comments – would love to hear others feedback. In the meantime, keep on shooting.
We all have Circadian rhythms or body cycles that are tuned specifically to us…whether you identify that as being a morning person or a night owl. This also applies to your creative rituals too though. Because our body clocks all operate on a unique pattern of restfulness and alertness, we have different times when we are the most creative. Our mind is able to focus on creative ideas and energies, and the distractions of the rest of the world aren’t nearly as distracting. The windmills are out there and we tilt away at them with every fiber of energy! Do you know when your creative zone occurs?
For me, that time often comes right around midnight. If I am not too sleepy, or I power through the initial desire to just go to bed, my mind suddenly becomes much clearer, my vision focuses, and I get so much done from my creative space, it’s kind of eerie. Tracy woke up once to find my literally typing a million miles a minute…the thoughts couldn’t get out of my brain fast enough. After about 3-4 hours of it though, my entire body just shuts down. The exciting thing though, is that I’ve been able to identify this creative zone. I know if I need to get some writing done, or some post production work on photos, or anything creative – those are the hours when I get the most accomplished.
We’re all different though, some people have this rush of creativity in the morning, or in the middle of meals or other activities. I’ve talked to so many people who still are unsure of when they really are at their creative best. When people attend workshops and get immersed in a creative world, the ideas flow much more naturally. The same holds for conferences, seminars, and any type of learning environment. It’s like the mind knows that other creatives are around and the energy for learning and expression is much higher than what we are normally exposed to. The trick comes in being able to identify when your creative zone normally happens when you are in that daily routine. Is it right when you wake up? After that first cup of coffee? Right before you go to bed at night? Or is it on those sleepless nights at 2am when your creative juices just start flowing?
Often when I talk to people about their work flow one big question and the need to do some pixel based editing in Photoshop, one of the questions that often comes up is “Why can’t I do X in Lightroom?”
Most of the time, it involves answers that include explanations of pixel based editing versus parametric editing, and lots of other technical reasons as to why certain things can’t happen in LR. But sometimes (and this is the best part), I find out they are adding to their work flow because it can be done in Lightroom! One of the most common ones is masking effects. When I show people this, I almost always get a “Holy Cow!” or some other variation on the “cow” part.
So, today I thought I’d share a quick tutorial on how to implement masking edits in Lightroom. Let’s take a look at the base image I am using here – a boat dock on Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks of upstate NY:
So, the dock here is a significant portion of the subject, but it’s way darker than the rest of the image, and really could be increased by a stop or two relative to the sky. So, rather than round trip to PS, let’s see what we can do here. I’ll start off with making a general masking selection of the entire area. So I check the Adjustment Brush (near the top of the Develop Module on the far right hand side), and then at the bottom of the image (over on the left), there’s a box that says “Show Selected Mask Overly”. I check that box. Then I just start painting!
It’s a prety broad brush I’ve used, so we need to clean it up, as some of the water got caught and that will leave an ugly halo effect if I don’t take care of it. So, to get more detailed selections completed, I zoom in, and then switch to erase mode while still showing the mask. This is in the lower options of the Adjustment Brush, on the right hand panel – see where it has “A”, “B”, and “Erase”? Click the erase and start painting again to undo the mask:
You, of course, will have to adjust the size, feathering and opacity of your brush to taste, and to accommodate your brushing technique as needed (hint: Wacom tablets work better than regular mice or trackballs). Once you’re finished with your refining of the mask, go ahead and uncheck the option to display the mask and see your results.
At this point you can actually do something else kind of cool – hover your mouse over the dot that is on display and then slide it to the left or right as you see the exposure increase and decrease for the selected area! Pretty cool, eh? This same technique works with other features in the adjustment brush, whether you are working on eyes, teeth, dodging, burning, or even skin softening. The scrubby slider is a nice feature in here. Then, finally, one thing I’ll do is make a side-by-side comparison of the image in a before and after mode to make sure my changes aren’t too garish or over the top (you can do a side-by-side comparison, top and bottom comparison and even split the screen between the two for a more detailed look):
Side by Side ViewLooks pretty good for this quick tutorial…and here’s the final image after our masking edits are done:
Adirondack DockNow I grant you that this is probably not a portfolio image, but it hopefully was helpful in illustrating how you can mask and edit your photos inside of Lightroom without having to do the round trip as often to Photoshop!
Like this tip/trick? Got any other comments, questions, or curiosities of how to leverage Lightroom more in your own work flow? Sound off in the comments, and as always, keep on shooting!
You heard it right, the latest and greatest episode of the LDP Podcast is now live and downloadable from your favorite outlet. Six long weeks in the making and with the patience of my special guest, Kevin Mullins, this is Episode #57!
For those of you that may not have heard of him, Kevin Mullins hails from across the pond to get together on a podcast and talk shop on photography. A well-established wedding photographer in the UK, Kevin is probably one of the most talented wedding photographers I know. He joins me in the latest episode of the Learning Digital Photography Podcast to talk about the documentary style of photography and the impact that has on how you both shoot and manage your business. You can download it from iTunes or directly from the website via the following links. Below the links are the show notes…enjoy!
As you may or may not have noticed, the blogging schedule has sort of gotten re-aligned again. I had slipped from the 5-day schedule down to a 2-day schedule, but during a recent getaway, I was able to get things back on track. Hopefully there won’t be any more changes to what is now a Mon-Wed-Fri setup, but news-breaking or other earth shattering info may trump the normal order of the universe! In any case, during the break, I happened across a few really good photo ops. Some gorgeous vistas and scenery, plus an occasional animal sighting from the trip to Puerto Angel Mexico (you’ll get more info if you subscribe to the free PhotographyBB magazine as a full-length article with many more photos is due out next month).
Nevertheless, since photos have not been at the forefront, I wanted to dedicate an entire post to sharing some photos from the trip here with you. So, without further ado, some selects from the trip!
As mentioned previously in the monthly contest series post, this month the featured vendor is none other than Hoodman. Their patented and widely recognized CF cards and loupes are proudly made in the U.S.A. (the only ones I know of that can make this claim), and are virtually indestructible. They have generously donated one of their Loupes for the contest winner, and allowed me a chance to review it as well. So, without further ado – here is the latest in the hardware review category for the blog:
Hoodman Loupe
The whole purpose of the Hoodman Loupe is to block stray light from hitting your LCD. In sunlight or hazy scenarios, it can often be challenging to view your screen, and even change settings if you own a newer camera. Given it’s simple function, the review aspect of this really is a simple matter to determine, does it do the job it claims to do or not.
Not only did it completely block all ambient light with ease, the Hoodman Loupe also seemed to make the on-screen photo much more brilliant and crisp than I had remembered before using it. That surprise was further mitigated by seeing how compact the Hoodman Loupe actually is – at roughly 2 inches long and an inch deep. Not only did it perform adequately, but at this compact size, the Hoodman Loupe is an easy addition to your camera bag with the minimal footprint it takes up in space.
Most rubber or manufactured products attempt to make things slick of shiny and in so doing, the product becomes quite slippery and difficult to hold. Not so with the Hoodman Loupe, as the rugged rubberized exterior was nicely made, and I was pleased to get an easy grip on it. Although easy to hold when in use, I was not as thrilled with the ease of porting. The short trap that they provide to carry it around your neck is much too short for me. Now granted, I am 6’1”, but certainly no giant, and the size was just awkward for me. While the quick release snap does attenuate it to a certain degree, the idea of keeping it tethered somehow is a little more reassuring (I have a penchant for losing small items when taken away from my body…LOL) The accompanying carrying case was a nice addition, but did serve to really make it easier to carry…this seems to only serve as a storage container for when not in use so you can differentiate it from other gear in your bag.
I did recall after using this that a DIY solution was suggested by Larry Becker, of NAPP notoriety (he does the weekly NAPP News segments and writes his own blog at Larry’s Cheap Shots), and think his belt clip idea is both innovative and and highly functional. If the folks at Hoodman made this accessory and slapped their brand on it, I’d be half inclined to purchase the entire kit from them directly.
It’s a fairly simple idea in total, and not much else to say other than – it works! The sturdy construction, and compact nature of it is perfect for any photographer who wants to utilize their LCD. For those of us with older cameras where shutter, aperture, ISO, and all other settings done via dials and the top viewer, it may not be as relevant, but for shooters using more recent gear like the Canon 50D, 60D, and 7D, the back screen is used much more to make these adjustments, so a device like the Hoodman Loupe could be a huge aid in making sure you’ve got your settings where you want them. For $80, you almost can’t go wrong! This is definitely the accessory you never thought you needed, but you really did!
Remember, this very Loupe is being given away at the end of the month, so for your chance to win this cool accessory, don’t forget to submit your BLOCK themed photo in the Flickr thread here. Good luck to those who enter, and thanks again to the folks at Hoodman for their sponsorship and contribution!
When the folks over at www.backlitbox.com approached me about reviewing the product and participating in the initial research and design of their new product, I was happy to oblige as new products that come into the marketplace are always engaging to participate in during development. So, I submitted one print for work-up, considering the line of products (images back-lit by laser lights). I chose a shot of the moon hanging beautifully over the harbor of South Carolina. When I got the product, I was skeptical at first because there was hardly any color to the image. However, when I plugged it in, the color became quite brilliant, and lit things amazingly well – better than I would have anticipated.
I did have some notes to go back to Faxon (the owner): the back of the box had no hanging wire mechanism, which put me in an awkward position of having to nail a picture hanger into the box myself, and without knowing how it was wired up for electrical, made for a potentially damaging situation. The other thing I noticed is that a thin line of light was evident around the perimeter of the box on all four sides. As we discussed at length later, this was an unfortunate side effect of the production line, with no real professional way to mask this light spill (we both agreed that gaffers tape or electrical tape would just look rather amateurish).
Not long after that, I had an idea when noticing a piece of trim molding in my office was peeling…what if there was a thin piece of trim molding that surrounded the print…this could effectively black out the border thereby avoiding the light spillage. I relayed the thoughts to Faxon, and shortly before I left for my trip, he informed me that the 2nd generation product was ready to ship and to send another photo in for production.
After sending in another image (a sunset over Folly Beach), I got the updated product literally 24 hours before my departure on vacation, and the end of the April contest series…so the review had to wait until now.
First off, let me say that I was (and am) very impressed with the professionalism that Faxon exhibited during the entire research and development process. Not only did he take constructive criticism well, but he also was quick to implement changes where improvements were desired, including not only a photo hanger on the back now, but also the trim molding to effectively eliminate the the white line of light around the border. Take a look:
The image looks amazing and I was surprised even that it was one from my own portfolio! Give the image quality, back-lit intensity, and visual appeal from this product, I must heartily give it a two-thumbs up rating, even though it is likely still in development. While most products usually are, this one even more so as he continues to improve upon the original design to deliver a better quality product to his client base. For the cost of printing, it almost is a no-brainer to consider these as part of your portfolio of products to offer clients. I’ve seen two different landscapes, and Faxon has shown me displays of portrait work and architecture work as well that have really rocked my socks off!
It’s a great product that will only improve with time, and is something every photographer should have both in their own portfolio, and as a product offering to their clients. For more information, and to upload/order your own images for production, please visit www.backlitbox.com
For those interested in having product reviews done on your own product line, please feel free to email me, as always. I do also appreciate the many requests for reviews of various products from the readership here, and all it takes is a request to me for a review to begin the process of communication with respective vendors for review copies, so keep chiming in with these ideas – it’s your suggestions that keep the product reviews coming, so sound off in the comments with what you’d like me to review next! Until then, happy shooting!
One of the cardinal rules I’ve always heard in the field of photography is to update your portfolio often – show fresh work to show you haven’t stagnated, and that your creativity is always expanding and changing with the styles and facets of the times. On the flip side, I know of many photographers who quietly admit that they have a stable of “permanent portfolio shots” that they fall back on to use in promotion and marketing mechanisms if they haven’t had new projects that they want to promote.
Leave it to the Libra, but for me, I can see both perspectives and understand the pros and cons of each. To those ends, I’ve not really made up my mind. Sometimes I waffle one way, other times I go in the opposite direction. It’s never good to stagnate, but I do think that some photography is timeless, and to that end, some photos are worth keeping in your portfolio. I’ve got a few that I know will always be in mine, but others I rotate periodically. Here’s one of my all-time favorites:
Keyboard shortcuts are great ways to improve your efficiency when working on post production. Here’s a couple that I use in Lightroom to help improve things so I can get my processing done, and get out and back to shooting that much quicker!
CMD/CONTROL+8
This takes me all the way down the Develop Module to Camera Calibration. If I ever want to make adjustments to which profile to use (typically I use Camera Standard, but it’s always fun to experiment), this gets me there a lot quicker than scrolling with my mouse or tablet!
R
Yup, that’s it – just the letter R. From the Library Module, this will take you to the Develop Module, turn on the crop tool and show you how you currently have your image cropped for composition. That’s it – one letter, no fuss no muss!
Module Switching
A super slick way to move between modules is to use your Command key (CTRL Key on Windows) and the ALT key along with the number for each module. It’s super easy to remember too:
Library = CMD/CTRL+ALT+1
Develop = CMD/CTRL+ALT+2
Slideshow = CMD/CTRL+ALT+3
Print = CMD/CTRL+ALT+4
Web = CMD/CTRL+ALT+5
That’s it – 3 easy ways to improve your work flow with Lightroom shortcuts! Wawnt some more? Check out the full detailed reference guide straight from Adobe here. What ways have you found to improve your own work flow? There’s tons out there, so share your own in the comments! Thanks for stopping in and we’ll see you here again next time!
Nothing tip-related, tutorial-esque, or educational today, just thought I’d share some photos from one of the local photo clubs I participate in regularly. One of our members is the on-staff photographer, and was able to get us permission to take photos for an entire session. We even got one of the guys to get in his gear and do some shots with us. Devin is the guys name and he totally was cool with our posing instructions and everything – this guy even kept this super heavy fire hose on his shoulder for like 30 minutes while we had him stand and pose, looking in various directions and holding his head a certain way.
So, without further ado – here’s a few samples/selects from what I am affectionately calling:
The Fire House Shoot
And to close out the series, one that struck me while there was a scene that reminded me of why we have these courageous men to serve and protect us…
The poses that Devin struck were directed courtesy of yours truly (stop back in later this week for more details on the posing techniques I used), and all post processing was done using your favorite photo editor (and mine): Adobe Lightroom!
Thanks to Tim Tonge for organizing the event, and to the brave men of Castle Rock Firehouse for tolerating our presence for an afternoon!
