PictureCorrect.com: 5 Reasons You Should Own a Prime Lens

Love them or hate them. But one thing you can’t do is ignore them. Prime lenses are some of the top favorites of photographers around the globe. What’s so great about them? In this video, Toby Gelston explains the five top reasons why you should invest in a prime lens:

What is a prime lens?

A prime lens has a fixed focal length; it doesn’t zoom. But many photographers favor them for their high quality.

What are the advantages of prime lenses?

1. Prime lenses are blessed with very wide apertures, ideal for isolating your subjects from the background and capturing beautiful bokeh.

Prime lenses have wide maximum apertures that create lovely bokeh.

2. Wide apertures are also ideal for maximizing the light getting into your camera. This makes prime lenses a good choice for low light photography.

Prime lenses are well-suited for low light photography.

3. Because of their smaller, simpler design, prime lenses have fewer moving parts, less distortion, and better quality images than many zoom lenses.

4. You get more value for your money. While you’re only able to zoom with your feet, the quality trade off is often worth it.

5. They are smaller and lighter compared to zoom lenses, which make them great for lugging around.

Prime lenses are much smaller than zoom lenses.

Do you have a prime lens? What do you like about it?

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PictureCorrect.com: Repetition and Patterns in Photography

The root word of repetition is “repeat”. When you repeat a certain size or shape or color you add strength to the overall image. Repetition is a basic concept in the world of art. If you want to make a statement, you repeat certain elements again and again. If you repeat something once or twice it becomes more interesting. If you repeat something many times it becomes a pattern and takes on a life of its own.

photo by whologwhy

Patterns give us order in an otherwise chaotic world. There’s something fundamentally pleasing about seeing order in such a way that we know what to expect. In most cases, repetition is a tool used to calm the viewer, making them feel comfortable and at peace while enjoying the view.

A single, simple subject with a plain non-distracting background definitely has its strengths, but it is NOT the only way to keep a viewer’s attention. Patterns are to photography what rhythm is to music. Without the limitation of just a single point of interest, repetition helps your eye dance from point to point with pure delight. You are not asked to make a judgment of the subject, simply to explore it. Like music, you are not expected to just listen to a single note, but to take in the high notes, low notes, the movements, and the beat. The goal here is not to just witness a good photograph but to experience it. Thus, when repetition is used correctly, it can greatly increase the emotional impact of your images.

photo by Anssi Koskinen

Patterns and repetition can be found all around us: a row of trees, a field of sunflowers, or a line of children waiting for a bus. When you get into the world of close-up photography, you will start to discover a whole new world of patterns. Often things that you perceive as solid or even as a single texture are made up of much smaller patterns.

Look at the surface of an orange, for example. Each dimple, each bump, each hill or valley contributes to what most viewers consider one smooth surface. Of course not all repetition is 100 percent uniform. Think of a choir in concert; every individual may be wearing the same robe, or suite, or dress to represent their organization, but they are still all individuals.

Like most things on earth, too much of a good thing can become bad (or stale or boring). It’s like when you first start taking pictures using a star filter. Occasionally, it makes some really cool effects and you have some unique images. But if you used it ALL the time; what at first seems unique now becomes common place, or worse yet—out of place.

photo by Travis Wise

A shot of a race car, doesn’t really need a star shining off his front windshield to be interesting. A horse leaning down for a cool drink in a stream doesn’t need little stars shining in the water. There is a time and place for everything, and repetition will not cure all boring shots. In fact, if you’re not selective about when you use it, it could make things worse.

photo by antifluor

The most common way to keep repetition from becoming boring is to deliberately break the pattern. Think of a fruit stand with an entire box of big red juicy apples. Now take one of those apples out and replace it with an orange. This technique is often referred to as creating a “spot.” A spot is nothing more than the deliberate use of opposition to force the viewer to look again and again. It may seem overly simple, but changing a single element in your shot can often make the difference between boring and fascinating.

photo by Joe Mazzola

Keep patterns and rhythm in mind when you line up a number of people for a group portrait. Here you will be dealing with similar shapes. Try to place them in a pleasing pattern. Start with three people and have them line up so that their heads form a triangle. As you add people form another triangle. You are adding to the pattern by creating a rhythm of triangles that dance together. A group of nine people on their own could form an ugly mob or they could form a very pleasing family portrait if you use the concept of repetition. Remember what we said at the beginning. Repetition is a tool. What you build with it determines if people consider you a master photographer or weekend warrior who just takes snapshots.

About the Author
Award winning writer and photographer Tedric Garrison has 30 years experience in photography (http://ift.tt/OIdA5g). As a graphic art major, he has a unique perspective. His photo eBook, Your Creative Edge, proves creativity can be taught. Today, he shares his wealth of knowledge with the world through his website.

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PictureCorrect.com: 5 Lighting Tips to Improve Your Photography

Photography is all about playing with light and shadows. The way you illuminate your subject will decide your results. Using the right photographic technique can certainly make a lot of difference in your photographs. Even if you’re not a professional photographer and you only use your camera on weekends, you still want to take best pictures. Here are some lighting techniques that will help you to improve the quality of your photographs.

“Table Mountain Sunset” captured by PictureSocial member Johnny Barrington

1. Use a broad light source

The broader the light source, the softer the light coming out of it. A broad light source casts fewer shadows and suppresses the texture of the subject. Narrow lighting accessories such as flashes and CFLs do the opposite. You must broaden these sources by bouncing their light through a reflector or diffuser such as a softbox or umbrella. Using a broad light source is especially flattering for shooting portraits.

“Cute Daisy” captured by PictureSocial member Wayne Marner

2. Place your light source close to your subject

The farther the light source, the harder the light falling on your subject. This is because, when the source is closer to you, it seems to be broadened, whereas when it is moved away, the broadness decreases, thereby becoming narrower. Make your subject stand close to your broadened light source so that your light source illuminates your subject evenly and naturally.

3. Use front-lighting judiciously

Front-lighting is known to suppress the texture of your foreground, thereby de-emphasizing it. Therefore, front-lighting might be good for shooting portraits where it will help you to cover-up scars and blemishes on your subject’s face. However, for a landscape photography, instead of front-lighting, it is advisable to choose side-lighting that will emphasize the texture of the rocks, sand, bricks, tree bark, etc.

“Doonagore Castle” captured by PictureSocial member Paul Holmes

4. Include shadows for a three-dimensional look

Shadows are not always bad. When you use them judiciously, shadows can help you to give a voluminous look to your photographs, thereby projecting your subject to be in space and not on a flat surface. The three-dimensional look given by shadows makes your pictures look real.

“Oooh” captured by PictureSocial member Andrew Scott

5. Keep color temperature in mind while shooting

Even though light looks white, it has color. This is not detected by our eyes but by the sensors in our cameras, which record the color cast. While shooting, always keep this color cast in mind so that you don’t spoil any important opportunities. During the early morning and late afternoon, the sunlight has a warm tone, whereas during the midday, it is bluish.

“Whittier” captured by PictureSocial member Justin I. Smith

Tungsten lighting casts yellow light, whereas fluorescent lighting puts out a bluish light. If you don’t want the color cast, use your camera’s white balance control to neutralize it.

Experimenting with your studio lighting equipment to discover more sweet secrets that will improve your photography.

About the Author:
This article was written by Tanny Jones from Photo Studio Supplies which provides lighting accessories. Equipment for photo studios.

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Rosetta s Farewell

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PictureCorrect.com: Interesting Photo of the Day: Stunning Shot of Stranded Ice

This amazing shot was taken by amateur photographer Christian Lim while waiting for “fine light in extreme cold weather.” It wasn’t until the last sunset of his nine day trip that he was able to catch the stunning photo below:

“Crash Into Me” (Via 500px.com. Click to see full size.)

The photo depicts glacier ice marooned on Jokulsarlon Beach in Iceland.

Lim shoots with a Canon 5D using a set of 5 lenses: 16-35mm, 17-40mm, 15mm FE, 20mm 2.8, and a 70-200mm.  He also uses LEE and Singh-Ray filters in his landscape photography.

Brilliant work!

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PictureCorrect.com: Tips for Using a Polarizing Filter

If you think investing in a polarizing filter is a bad idea, photographer Steve Perry wants to prove you wrong. Perry explains the fundamental reasons why, as a nature photographer, you absolutely need to have one of these filters in your bag at all times. Even though you might be tempted to Photoshop your way to glory, there are certain things that even the mighty photo editing tool is incapable of handling. So without further ado, let’s hear it:

Polarizers Are Not Just for Blue Skies

One of the biggest misconceptions that people have about polarizers is that they are only meant to make blue skies appear bluer. Well, that’s just one way to use them.

Polarizers have a much wider usability. The primary reason why polarizers are considered indispensable by nature photographers is that they take reflections off of any surface. They are particularly great when that surface is non-metallic. Leaves (especially when they are wet), water, flowers—anything will reflect light. With a polarizer, you can cancel all of that out. In effect, you capture the information and not the glare, thus saturating the colors, making blue skies appear bluer than ever, and capturing astonishing fall colors.

Why Can’t You Just Use Photoshop?

Polarizers preserve details in water and saturate colors.

When the glare off a surface is cancelled out, underlying information such as details on the surface, colors, etc. are revealed. When you photograph something that produces a lot of glare without using a polarizer, you only capture the glare and not the underlying information. Simply put, if the information is not there in the picture to start off, it can’t be salvaged using Photoshop.

The Trade Off of Using a Polarizer

A polarizing filter will, on average, block two stops of light.

On an average, a polarizer will block about two stops of light. When you use a polarizer, take that into consideration and adjust the exposure.

The Best Ways to Use a Polarizing Filter

Before you head for your favorite store to buy a polarizer, here are a few more tips on the best ways to use them:

• There are two types of polarizers available. For a DSLR, you need the circular variety.
• The basic way to use a polarizer is to rotate the front element. It rotates to allow you to dial in the amount of polarization you need. Simply turn it till you think you have the best results.
• Always use polarizing filters when the sun is out and it is a fairly clear blue day. If it is hazy—even better!
• Ideally, the sun should be at an angle of 90 degrees to where you are standing.

Polarizing filters work best when your subject is at a 90 degree angle from the sun.

• Polarizing filters work best when they are used with lenses longer than 35mm.
• If you are into panoramas, try not to use a polarizer.
• If you are photographing vegetation, waterfalls, or anything non-metallic that shines, the polarizer will do a great job of cutting down reflections, bringing out details, and saturating colors.
• Polarizers work great with rainbows by saturating the colors.

Polarizers are great for bringing out the colors in rainbows.

• If you have a wide angle lens, choose a polarizing filter that is thin to avoid vignetting at the corners.

Do you have a polarizing filter? What do you use it for?

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PictureCorrect.com: How to Turn a Bad Photo into a Great Photo

Glyn Dewis has an innovative tutorial for your underexposed, throwaway images. Especially on days where you can’t get out to shoot, retouching some of those photos you never thought to use can be a great way to expand your portfolio and skillset:

Lightroom Workflow

Dewis starts his endeavor in Lightroom in order to fix the lighting and other small details:

1. Increase the exposure of the whole image. Using the shadow slider on the right side of the screen, slide all the way to the right or as far as you need to lighten the shadows and allow more details to be seen. You can also adjust the exposure a bit to the right, but be careful to no blow out the highlights using this method.

2. Bring out the details of the subject. Using an adjustment brush, slide the shadows all the way to the right again. Paint over the entire image using a mask, and then remove the mask overlay by pressing O. This should further lighten the underexposed areas of the photo and increase detail.

3. Add detail to the face. Using another new adjustment brush, bring up the shadows and exposure for the facial area to give it that added detail.

4. Add shine to the clothing. Using a new brush and a mask overlay, paint over the clothing that you wish to add shine to. Press O to remove the overlay, and increase the clarity, shadows, and exposure. For a more dramatic feel, duplicate the effect.

5. Remove blemishes. Using the spot removal tool in Lightroom, remove any noticeable blemishes on the skin.

6. Add finishing touches on the entire image. Click on the background and lower the Temp to a more blue tone. Add sharpening to about 90. Pressing Alt and clicking on the masking slider should allow you to drag the slider right until the white shown on the image is only on the areas that need to be sharpened.

Photoshop Workflow

Next, Dewis sends his work over to Adobe Photoshop CS6. In order to be as nondestructive as possible, he does this by going to Photo > Edit In > Open as a Smart Object in Photoshop.

1. Decrease any noticeable flaws in the photo. In this photo, Dewis used the Liquify tool (Filter > Liquify) to reduce the bulge of the man’s abdomen. He uses the Freeze Mask option to paint the areas that he wants to protect from liquefying and then drags in the abdomen to get rid of the bulk. If you feel that you go too far with the Liquify tool, you can click on Reconstruct which gives you flexibility to change the degree of change that you would like.

2. Dodge and burn. Creating a new layer, fill it (Edit > Fill) with a 50% gray. Set the blend mode to Soft Light. Use the Dodge tool to add highlights; pressing the Alt key will switch to the Burn tool in order to add shadows. Great places to add these details are on muscles or the face.

3. Clean up the background. Using the Clone Stamp tool, sample the current and below layers. Alt+Click on a clear area of the background. Then, paint over any light or marks that detract from the overall image.

4. Add interest to the background. A great way to do this is using textures. For those of you who have CS6 and subscribe to Creative Cloud, you can access many free textures by going to Windows > Extensions > Adobe Paper Texture Pro. You can click on a texture to add it to the photo. Once you have one you like, desaturate (Image > Adjustments > Desaturate) the color from it. Add another texture on top if you would like and desaturate it, as well. You can play with the blend mode of the two textures; Soft Light is always a nice option. Make a new group of the two texture layers and create a group Layer Mask. Using a soft black brush, paint over your subject where you don’t want the texture to appear. You can Alt+Click on the layer mask to see if you missed any areas.

5. Add lighting effects. Create a new layer, and set your foreground color to white. Put a medium sized circle of a soft brush in the middle of your image. Transform the layer and drag the four corners of the brush out to the edges of the image. Move this to where you want the light coming from. If more than one light source is needed, duplicate (CTRL+J) the layer, and drag it to the other area.

6. Add dust and specks to the light. Open a picture of blurry rain falling in the dark or dust and specks on a dark background. Drag it into your image. Rescale it to roughly the size of the image using Transform. Set the blend mode to Screen and lower the Fill percentage, so there are only traces of the specks. In Dewis’ image, most of the light comes from the top, so he wants to remove the specks from the bottom half of the image. He adds a Layer Mask and opens the gradient tool. With a black foreground, he uses a foreground to transparent gradient and places a small gradient starting at the bottom of the image to remove some of the lower specks.

7. Add fake smoke. Create a new layer and press D to reset your foreground and background colors to default. Create a Clouds filter by going to Filter > Render > Clouds. The clouds that the tool makes will not be very realistic, so use the Rectangular Marquee tool to choose a small area of the clouds. Create a layer by copy (Layer > New > Layer by copy), and delete the lower layer of clouds. Using Transform, drag the small version’s corners out until the clouds look more realistic. Lower the Opacity to a small number such as 5-10 percent.

8. Desaturate the colors of your image. Set your colors back to default (D), and create a Gradient Map with opacity 30 percent. This is to add a bit of interest and shading to your image while toning down the colors.

9. Add lighting color. Now it’s time to add a special layer for color effects. Go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient. Choose a gradient with complimentary shades; in Dewis’ image he used one that went from Orange to Indigo. You can click on the color swatches to edit the shades of the gradient, as well. Use the angle of the gradient to adjust lighting. You can set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light and adjust further from there. You can click on the actual image and actually move the gradient to adjust, as well. Lower the opacity once you are happy with the gradient.

10. Add some contrast. Create a merged layer of all the layers by selecting all and then going Edit > Copy Merged and pasting it on a new layer. Create an Unsharp Mask (Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask) to add contrast without any color change. Dewis uses an amount of 20 and a radius of 20.

Before / After

Now your image is done! Using and applying these techniques to your own photos will hopefully allow you more flexibility in which images are considered editable and which are not.

“We can make something that would ordinarily be a throwaway picture and turn it into something that’s actually portfolio-worthy.”

For further training: Lightroom Mastery at 50% Off

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