Tuesday 1 July 2014

How to Photograph Fireworks eBook

How to Photograph Fireworks eBook

Link to PictureCorrect Photography Tips

How to Photograph Fireworks eBook

Posted: 30 Jun 2014 06:21 PM PDT

With 4th of July Independence Day celebrations quickly approaching, we have been receiving requests for more training on how to photograph fireworks. Fireworks photography is indeed one of the most daunting types of photography. This eBook explains the process from start to finish, everything from gear and camera settings to composition and post-processing to achieve great results. The publisher has kindly agreed to give PictureCorrect readers 33% off until the 4th of July ($10 marked down from $15). Deal found here: How to Photograph Fireworks eBook

fireworks photography

How to Photograph Fireworks eBook

A common result of photographers new to fireworks photography is capturing nothing but bright white spots instead of colorful bursts. But with the guidance of this eBook in hand, you should be fully prepared to photograph brilliant fireworks displays. While the exposure fundamentals of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO are essential to great fireworks, it's important to make sure you have the right accessories and set up for your shots correctly.

Some of the Many Topics Covered (50 Pages):

  • Equipment & Accessories Needed
  • Using a DSLR for Fireworks
  • Using a Point & Shoot for Fireworks
  • Composition
  • Using a Neutral Density Filter
  • Country Shutter Technique
  • Post Processing
  • Conclusion
fireworks photography

Pages from How to Photograph Fireworks (Click to See More)

Like post processing in general, there are a myriad of ways to approach the post processing of fireworks shots. To start, they describe general tips and explain how they are universally applicable, and then they apply the techniques to example photos, explaining how they change the overall result.

How to Get a Discounted Copy This Week:

We were able to arrange a 33% discount for our readers until Friday, July 4. It aso carries a guarantee, if you do not find the book useful just let us know to receive a full refund. So there is nothing to lose in trying it.

Offer found here: How to Photograph Fireworks eBook


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How to Shoot Hand-Held Photos at Low Shutter Speeds (Video)

Posted: 30 Jun 2014 05:18 PM PDT

Holding a camera seems like a no-brainer, right? If you’re just grabbing the grip and snapping shots on your DSLR, you might not be getting the best possible shots–especially in low-light conditions. In this back-to-basics video, photographer Karl Taylor explains the correct way to hold your camera in order to take the best photos when using a slow shutter:

Tips For Shooting Hand-Held Photos in Low-Light Conditions

According to Taylor, you need to support your camera and lens in order to take a steady shot. Ultimately, you need to create a tripod with your body. To do this, Taylor says you need to do the following:

  • Firmly grip the camera on the hand grip with your right hand.
  • Lock your right elbow against your rib cage to steady the camera.
  • Place the eyepiece of the camera up to your eye, pressing it against your eyebrow.
  • Cup your left hand beneath the base of the camera and the base of the lens, supporting the weight of both pieces while leaving your fingers free to zoom and focus the lens.
  • Step your legs apart to form a wide, stable base so you don’t sway.

Taylor goes on to demonstrate a few variable positions that still use this basic “tripod” form.

If you want to shoot from a seated position, sit cross-legged and place your elbows on your knees with the eyepiece locked against your eyebrow for stability.

low light photography

Sit cross-legged with your elbows on your knees for seated shooting.

Looking for a low-angle shot? Lie on your belly and support your camera with your elbows on the ground.

low angle photography

Rest your elbows on the ground for low-angle shots.

If you’re working in very low-light conditions and plan to shoot from a standing position, find an object to help support you and eliminate vibration. Here, Taylor presses his body weight against a tree for support while still maintaining the “tripod” stance.

landscape-photography

Lean up against a tree, wall, or pole for extra stability.

If you find your images are still a bit blurry and you are unable to increase the shutter speed, find an inanimate object you can use to support your camera. Ideally, you want a flat, immobile surface, but Taylor says you can always soften the surface by placing your hand or fist between your camera and the surface as he shows here with a park bench.

makeshift tripod

Use your hand or fist to soften the surface of a stable object.

How Low Can You Go?

One question many people often ask Taylor is “how low can you actually go with your shutter speeds?” He says there is a nice rule of thumb that can be applied to most cameras and lenses.

“The focal length of your lens–say, for example, you’re shooting at 200mm–then a good rule of thumb is don’t go lower than 1/200 of a second. Or, if you’re shooting with a 50mm lens, then don’t go slower than 1/50 of a second.”

Taylor says he often uses a wide angle lens to get his shutter down to 1/15 of a second (if not all the way down to 1/8 or 1/4) for street photography. This allows for a little bit of motion blur of people walking or vehicles driving by.

motion-blur-shutter-speed

Slower shutter speeds allow for blurred motion in street photography.

Another tip Taylor shares sounds like something you would hear in yoga class:

“I recommend exhaling, pausing, and then shooting on the pause when you exhale. If you’re holding your breath, you get a little bit of vibration, but if you exhale, you’ve got a few seconds where you’ve got that bit of calmness where your body’s not moving quite as much.”

By breathing correctly and utilizing Taylor’s suggested brace positions, you will be able to snap wonderful low-light, hand-held photos.


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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

9 Beautiful Photos of the Most Dazzling Eyes

Posted: 30 Jun 2014 04:49 PM PDT

The eyes have long been considered the windows to the soul. Photographers often try to focus on a subject’s eyes as a way to add depth and emotion to a photo. So, we decided to look a little closer. Check out those eyes:

eyes

photo by JAY SADLER

eyes

photo by Gary Vernon

eyes

photo by Dan Foy

eyes

photo by Fadzly Mubin

eyes

photo by rudy reid

eyes

photo by JAY SADLER

Show us some of your interesting portraits in the comments section below, and feel free to read more about out how to enhance eyes in Photoshop.

"The eyes mirror the heart of a person. An entire life can be seen through them. Love, sorrow, deceit, pain. If you look closely, it's all there."  ― Gail Tsukiyama, The Language of Thread


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Daring Photographer Shares How He Captures the Right Moments (Video)

Posted: 30 Jun 2014 01:25 PM PDT

A photographer can easily set up and compose a picture before it is even shot; however, it is a different talent to capture a photograph in a split second, with no planning beforehand. Carsten Peter, a regular photographer for National Geographic and a World Press Photo Award winner, speaks of his experiences in capturing the right moment in extreme situations:

Peter is known for exploring extreme situations such as active volcanoes, lava lakes, acid waterfalls, and deep ice shafts. He braves some of the world's most dangerous natural climates in order to capture never seen before images.

extreme-photography-lava

When asked about how he captures the perfect moment, he talks about how sometimes the people around him scream that it is time to move. However, he is stuck in place because there is a certain appreciation for the world we live in that comes from being in its most thrilling corners.

carsten-peter-travel-photography

There are certain risks that come with the job. Peter has learned to accept the injuries which can vary from broken bones to diseases. He also has accepted that the traveling portion of his job means missing important people and events in his life.

"I wonder, do I live my dream life?"


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How to Use a Softbox and Photoshop for Retro-Style Portraits (Video)

Posted: 30 Jun 2014 11:32 AM PDT

One of the questions that is most commonly asked when shooting in a small home studio is, “Should I use a softbox or an umbrella?” In this video, photographer Gavin Hoey explains the effects of both and delves deeper into how to use a softbox. He then shows us how to take softbox-lit photos and turn them into stunning retro-style images in Photoshop:

Umbrellas vs. Softboxes

Softboxes and umbrellas both have their uses, it just depends on what kind of lighting you’re going for. With a shoot-through umbrella, you get beautiful soft lighting. A reflective umbrella gives you much more control over the lighting and gives it more direction. A softbox gives you both, if you use it correctly.

Hoey shows us how to control light and shadows that come with shooting in a small home studio. First, he sets up the shoot with one softbox, which will give the light direction while still providing a soft glow. He uses the Westcott Apollo Orb Softbox with a Flashpoint Streaklight 360 inside. The bare bulb light provides soft but dramatic lighting.

Lighting with One Softbox

  • You can change the direction of the lighting with a softbox, so try placing it in different spots around your subject to find the best angle.
  • Set your target aperture (Hoey goes for f/11 to get his desired depth of field) and keep that aperture for every shot as you move the softbox around.
  • Take test shots as you move the softbox around.
  • If the test picture comes out with a strong contrast or harsh, uneven lighting on the subject, move the softbox so the light is not at an angle, but almost directly in front of your subject.
  • If it comes out too flat, give the lighting more of an angle.
positioning a softbox

Move the softbox around to see how the angle affects the lighting.

For Hoey’s photoshoot, he has a final image in mind of a vintage portrait. The nearly straight angle of the lighting creates kind of a flat image, lacking the drama that a sharp angle provides. He wants something in between so he moves the softbox somewhere in the middle, which gives a nice amount of contrast and a little bit of shadow behind his model.

Post-Processing for a Retro Look

Taking his RAW file into Photoshop CC, Hoey makes a few small adjustments to give the photo a feeling of age and create a cool vintage style portrait. The photo already has a nice, warm background color, and the model has a retro style, so the post-processing will just add to that feeling.

  • First, Hoey brings down the clarity to -30 to create a dreamy softness.
  • To add to that glowing effect, he adjusts highlights and brightness. He increases the exposure by about half a stop and brightens the highlights and whites to get sort of a burnt out effect that works for the retro feeling.
  • Since there was only one light in the studio, there were more shadows; to deal with this, Hoey increases the shadow slider to brighten them up slightly.
  • He takes the warm tone of the existing image even further and adds a nice creamy feel by increasing the temperature.
  • To enhance that, he decreases the vibrance.

Because he only used a single, smaller softbox, Hoey also needs to fix the uneven lighting that left the model’s legs darker than her face. To do this, he zooms in on the legs and makes a few adjustments:

  • Increase the exposure with the adjustment brush.
  • Bring up the shadows to open them up.
  • Pull down the saturation.
  • Turn on Auto Mask so he can brush outside the legs without ruining the image.
  • To fix the speckling effect of Auto Mask, turn off Auto Mask and, using a small, hard brush, erase the images around the legs to bring it back to the original.
photoshop retro effect

Before/After

And there you have it, a beautiful final image with a retro feel.


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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

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