More bits of data make more shades of gray.

What’s the difference between 8-bit and 16 bit? The number of shades of gray. 256 versus 65,536 to be exact. With more shades of gray, gradation becomes smoother.

How do you get at these numbers? Digital files are binary. 2 to the 8th power is 256. 2 to the 16th power is 65,536.

2 1 = 2

2 2 = 4

2 3 = 8

2 4 = 16

2 5 = 32

2 6 = 64

2 7 = 128

2 8 = 256

2 9 = 512

2 10 = 1024

2 11 = 2048

2 12 = 4096

2 13 = 8192

2 14 = 16,384

2 15 = 32,768

2 16 = 65,536

16-bit files take twice as much memory to store all those shades of gray. It’s worth it. For an arithmetic increase in file size you get a logarithmic increase in the number of shades of gray.

256 shades of gray are just enough shades of gray to do reasonably well for most imaging applications. The human eye can see approximately 1,000 shades of gray. With 65,536 shades of gray, 16-bit files contain tens of thousands of shades of gray more than you can see.

So what are all those extra shades of gray good for? Editing your files to get the best results possible. When a digital file is edited, it loses some shades of gray. If a digital file contains too few shades of gray, it begins to posterize. You may see signs of posterization if an image’s histogram displays combing or gaps and spikes. Before you panic, examine smooth areas of an image to make sure there’s visible posterization. Do this at 100% screen magnification; many times the posterization you see on a monitor is a result of a monitor not being able to display the data as smooth as it is at other screen magnifications. 16-bit files contain so many shades of gray, it’s very difficult for posterization to occur with normal editing – unless you deliberately posterize it with digital filtration.

16-bit doesn’t extend color gamut; 16-bit files can be either small or wide gamut. 16-bit is recommended for files created in wide-gamut color spaces, like Pro Photo RGB, because the steps between tonal values are spread out over a larger distance to achieve greater saturation and so tend to posterize more quickly.

16-bit doesn’t extend dynamic range; it doesn’t generate a blacker black or a whiter white. 16-bit source files are recommended for high dynamic range because HDR images are heavily processed when tone-mapped and would posterize without higher bit depths. In HDR processing, multiple bracketed 16-bit files are combined into a single file with a 32-bit mode used to hold the varied data they contain over a dynamic range that is wider than the device that created them. A 32-bit file is subsequently tone-mapped and rendered down to a 16-bit file with an improved dynamic range.

With the exception of 32-bit files used for HDR tone-mapping, files in Adobe Photoshop can either be either 8-bit or 16-bit.
To get true 16-bit data, you need to generate it when you create a digital file – and preserve it during image editing. JPEG files can’t contain 16-bit data; they’re cooked down to 8-bit. Raw files can. (So can scanned images.)

Not all Raw files contain a true 16-bits of data. While many DSLRs can only generate 10-bits, 12-bits, or 14-bits data, all DSLR Raw files contain more than 8-bits of data, which can only be preserved in Photoshop if edited in 16-bit mode.
You can change a digital file’s mode from 8-bit to 16-bit, but doing this won’t magically add shades of gray to the old 8-bit data; all this does is create the possibility of adding new 16-bit data information on top of the old 8-bit data; and it doubles a file’s size.

Editing files in 16-bit mode limits some of Photoshop’s functionality; many filters don’t work in 16-bit mode.

You can apply a filter to an 8-bit copy of a 16-bit file and drop and drag the filtered file into the original 16-bit file as a layer. Again, the layer won’t have 16-bits of data and may be adversely affected by subsequent edits if they are aggressive. If edited minimally, the results can be quite acceptable.

Editing your images in 16-bit mode is worth the time and effort. You’ll generate fewer imaging artifacts during editing and so create better finished files.

Right now, creating 16-bit files is largely about generating the best 8-bit data. (Most monitors can only display 8-bits of data. Improved results in print can only be discerned by the very discriminating eye in select files.) In the future, when monitors and printers make better use of more than 8-bit data, you’ll begin to see visible improvements in gradation when your images are viewed in both display and print.

A smooth histogram.

A posterized histogram.

Gaps happen when contrast is increased; tones that were close together are spread apart. Spikes happen when contrast is reduced; tones that were close together become the same.

Avoid this by editing in 16-bit.

Read more in my digital printing and digital photography ebooks.
Learn more in my digital printing and digital photography workshops.

 

Category: Photoshop, Technique
Tags: , , ,

Unsharp Mask

September 5, 2011 | 2 Comments

Precise sharpening can improve almost any image. It helps to know when to apply it, what type of sharpening to apply, how to apply it and where to apply it. Forget the filters Sharpen, Sharpen More and Sharpen Edges. They’re just default settings of Unsharp Mask. Even Smart Sharpen offers few advantages over Unsharp Mask; it’s particularly useful for compensating for trace, but not substantial, amounts of motion blur. My advice? Start with the classic and master it.

Why is a filter that makes images appear sharper called Unsharp Mask? In silver-halide-based photography, unsharp masks are made with out-of-focus negatives that are registered with an original positive image. During exposure, the blurring adds contrast around contours, making images appear sharper. Digital unsharp mask works the same way; it uses blurring algorithms to add contrast to contours, again making images appear sharper.

What are the ideal settings for Photoshop’s Unsharp Mask filter? There are no ideal settings that will accommodate all images—or image makers. Settings will be influenced by resolution, ISO, subject and practitioner. As creative sharpening is primarily an aesthetic decision, individuals are likely to prefer different amounts and types of image sharpness. When it comes to the effects Unsharp Mask generates, there’s a general range of believability most viewers share, but whether you play it safe or push the envelope is entirely up to you. You can craft your own sharpening style. To do this, you have to know how the tool works and what to look for.

What are the controls Unsharp Mask offers? Unsharp Mask offers only three controls: Amount, Radius and Threshold. What do they do? Amount controls contrast; a higher setting will create a brighter halo, darker line and contrastier texture. Radius controls how thick halos and lines get. Threshold suppresses the effect in adjacent pixels, based on their relative luminosity; with a very low setting, only adjacent pixels that are very close in color will be affected; with a very high setting, many more color values will be affected.

It’s one thing to hear this. It’s another to see it. To test the filter for yourself, take these six easy steps.

1. Apply the filter to an image containing a range of textures; set all three sliders to their lowest settings.

2. Raise the Amount all the way to 500%. Nothing will happen because it’s not the effect; it modifies the effect.

3. Raise the Threshold all the way to 255; then return it to 0. Nothing will happen because it’s not the effect; it modifies the effect.

4. Raise Radius. You’ll see a dramatic change in your image. What will you see? Bright lines (halos) and dark lines (lines) will appear and grow thicker. Texture will increase. Contrast will increase, particularly around contours and with respect to texture, which may make luminance noise more pronounced. Saturation will increase; color noise may begin to appear.

5. Now move the Amount slider back and forth; you’ll see the halos and lines increasing and decreasing in contrast.

6. Move the Threshold slider back and forth; you’ll see the effect dropped out of a varying range of adjacent values.

While you’re sharpening, keep an eye on these image elements: contours or halos and lines (hard or soft, thick or thin); texture; noise (light/dark or color); contrast; and saturation.

Now that you know how the filter works, how to control it and what to look for, what effects should you consider? There are two primary ways to apply Unsharp Mask: use a low Radius or use a high Radius.

Low Radius applications of Unsharp Mask strengthen the contrast of contours more than their thickness and often can accentuate texture aggressively, for better or for worse. Start with an Amount of 500%. Raise the Radius until it produces an effect that’s unnaturally contoured and textured, then pull back slightly. Reduce the Amount to subdue the effect somewhat until the effect seems convincing. Use a minimum Threshold setting or else the effect may be suppressed unnecessarily and sometimes unnaturally. The idea behind this classic effect is to create a very intense line for maximum effect and to make it very thin so the eye can barely resolve it. Use a maximum Amount, a very precise Radius and a minimum Threshold. When using this effect on high-resolution files, because there are more pixels in a high-resolution image, Radius settings will be higher, you’ll be able to set them more precisely, and you’ll be able to use higher amounts. Higher-resolution files can be sharpened more precisely.

High Radius applications of Unsharp Mask strengthen the thickness of contours more than their contrast and don’t accentuate texture aggressively. Start with an Amount of 100%. Raise the Radius until it produces an effect that’s unnaturally contoured and textured, then pull back until the effect seems convincing. Use a minimum Threshold setting or else the effect may be suppressed unnecessarily and sometimes unnaturally. High Radius effects are often less aggressive or dramatic than low Radius effects. For this reason, they’re often combined together in multi-pass sharpening routines.

You can sharpen an image multiple times and achieve a different effect than sharpening an image only once. How? First apply one type of sharpening and then the other. Typically, high Radius settings are used before low Radius settings, taking care not to create sharpening artifacts in the first pass that will be accentuated adversely in the second pass.

Find more sharpening at Digital Photo Pro.

Read more with my digital photography ebooks.

Learn more in my digital printing and digital photography workshops.

Category: Photoshop, Sharpening, Technique
Tags: , , ,

“Any “object” that needs the ability to adjust size and rotation without the normal limitations of layered images is an excellent candidate for Smart Objects … When doing a traditional multilayer composite, the resizing and rotation of a layer can cause image degradation. Positioning and sizing an object has to be a precise operation because if you use Free Transform to make a layer smaller and then find out you actually need it back at the original size (or bigger), you basically have to start over. The way to deal with this situation when doing a complex composite is to make those layers into Smart Objects. Smart Objects are embedded image objects that allow resizing, rotation and other select editing without changing the pixels in the object. The image layers are actually treated as a separate file embedded within the master file. You can’t do all editing on the Smart Object, but you can open the original layers as a temporary file and do pixel-level editing there and then save the changes back into the Smart Object; the changes will auto-update in the image in which the objects are embedded.” – Jeff Schewe

Read more about Smart Objects at Digital Photo Pro.
Get Schewe & Evening’s book CS5 for Photographers: The Ultimate Workshop.
Learn more with my online resources.
Learn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops.

Category: CS5, Photoshop, Technique
Tags: , , , , , ,

Adopt a non-destructive workflow. When you can’t, take notes.

Non-destructive Photoshop workflows do more than let you change edits to a file in perpetuity, they also create a record of what you’ve done to an image. For instance, when you reopen a Smart Object, you can simply check the interface to see any and all of the Adobe Camera Raw settings currently being applied. So, if you’re not sure whether the latest detail rendering and noise reduction algorithms are being used for a given file, all you have to do is open the Smart Object to verify this. Or, when you click on an adjustment layer you can see the those settings in the Adjustments panel. So, if you’re not sure whether an adjustment layer caused clipping, you can toggle it on and off to verify this; if it is you reset the values; if it’s not you find the real source for the clipping.

Despite Photoshop’s increasingly flexible interface, there are still many times when you need to work destructively. Not all edits can be applied as Smart Objects, Smart Filters, or adjustment layers. Many filters still can’t be applied as Smart Filters. HDR merge settings can’t be applied non-destructively. Adjustments from third-party plug-ins, such as noise reduction with Noiseware or Tonal Contrast from NIK’s Viveza can’t be applied non-destructively. But you can create records of the settings you use with destructive edits, making it easier to see what you did later and helping make future refinements faster and more precisely.

How? Take notes in Photoshop. There are many ways to take notes in Photoshop. There’s the Note tool. You can use a Text layer. You can record information in the title of a layer. For complex settings, all of these can more abstract and time consuming than necessary, reducing the likelihood that you’ll actually make them.

There is an easy way to make notes of complex interfaces. Use screenshots. A screenshot takes a picture of your screen, either entirely or partially. Store images of the destructive edit settings inside the file you used them on and you’ll have excellent notes for future reference. Doing this only takes a few seconds. Read more

Category: Photoshop, Technique
Tags: , ,

Blend It Out

January 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment

It’s a perfect shot! If only those unwanted moving objects (UMOs, i.e., a person or a crowd) in the scene would disappear. As long as the unwanted elements in your frame move, even just a little, you can make them disappear from your image by taking two or more shots and using Photoshop’s layering and blending capabilities.

You don’t have to retouch your image. Blending is different than retouching. The unwanted elements aren’t covered over with new information by hiding them with replacement information similar to the surround, either from the same source or another. With blends, the information behind the moving subject is revealed. How? It’s contained in the other shot(s).

You even can do this with exposures that are made with slightly different angles of rotation or framing, so you can use this technique with handheld exposures, not just those made with a tripod. Camera motion may make manual registration difficult, but Photoshop automatically will align and, in some cases, distort the separate exposures so that they register precisely …

Read more at Digital Photo Pro.

Learn more in my digital photography ebooks.

Learn more in my digital photography workshops.

Category: photography, Photoshop, Technique
Tags: , , , , , ,


Many people find it easier to see composition in black and white. If you’re one of them, try setting our camera’s preview to black and white. When you do this, seeing line, shape, form, and relative light and dark relationships may become easier. Doing this will also help you get a better sense of how an image will look in black and white. Remember though, the saturated hues in your image can be converted to black and white as either light or dark, so the relative tonal distribution of your image is quite fluid – and seeing the hues in the image (whether with your naked eye or on the camera’s LCD) will inform you how fluid you can expect it to be, where it will be fluid and where it won’t.

Setting your camera’s preview to black and white will only affect the JPEGs your camera creates; your Raw files will still be in full color.

Find more digital photography online resources here.

Learn more in my Digital Photography Workshops.

Category: Technique
Tags: , , ,

Here are some commonly asked questions that, once answered, will demystify setting camera file format.

“Should I set my camera to JPEG, Raw, or JPEG and Raw?”

If you want to create files with the highest quality, set your camera to create Raw files. Raw files contain the widest color gamut, highest big depth, have flexible white point, can have highlight and shadow detail recovered, can be reprocessed infinitely, and are free of compression artifacts. Raw files are larger and require post-processing before presentation. They take up more room and they take longer to use.

If you want files to create files to share immediately without (or with minimal) post-processing, set you camera to create JPEG files. JPEGs are excellent for transmission, posting to the web, and print on demand. (Remember, the highest quality JPEGs are the ones created by post-processing Raw files, not the ones created by your camera.)

If you want both Raw and JPEG, set your camera to create both.

A camera creates a Raw file every time it makes an exposure. Setting a camera to create a JPEG file requires it to make a conversion to JPEG, which it does with incredible speed. If a camera is set to JPEG, it will replace the Raw file. If a camera is set to Raw, only a Raw file will be created. If a camera is set to Raw + JPEG it will create a JPEG copy in addition to the Raw file.

“How do you set file format on a digital camera?”

Camera interfaces and terminology vary. On the Canon 1Ds Mark II, you can set image- recording quality by pressing the Quality button (a square icon that breaks into pixels) and dialing to the setting of your choice. Four quality settings are available – one Raw and three JPEG: Large/Fine, Large/Normal, and Small/Fine.

“Should I save my JPEGs in another file format?”

If you edit them, once you edit them, save copies of JPEGs as TIFFs to avoid additional JPEG compression artifacts. Every time you save a JPEG file it’s re-compressed, which causes progressive artifacting and cumulative damage.

Find more digital photography online resources here.

Learn more in my Digital Photography Workshops.

Category: Technique
Tags: , , , ,

Here are five commonly asked questions that, once answered, will demystify camera color spaces.

“Why do my digital camera files have an sRGB profile?”

sRGB is the default color space for most digital cameras today. Most camera interfaces will allow you to change this default. Interfaces and options will vary. The widest gamut default color space most digital cameras support is Adobe RGB (1998). The profile for the camera’s default color space is attached to JPEG files but not to Raw files.

“Is Adobe RGB (1998) the widest gamut I can get with my camera?”

No. The camera sensor is capable of quite a lot more. To access color spaces with a wider gamut than Adobe RGB (1998) you typically need to shoot in a Raw file format. This also allows you to acquire a high bit file – 16-bit instead of 8-bit.

“Where do Raw files get their profiles?”

Raw files don’t have profiles until they are converted into a standard editing space, either with the manufacturer’s software or another Raw file converter like Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom. Most Raw converters offer a choice of editing spaces including sRGB, ColorMatch, Adobe RGB (1998), or ProPhoto RGB.

“Which color space do you recommend using?”

Use ProPhoto RGB for digital output. It’s the only editing space that can encompass the full gamut of both your camera and your inkjet printer. Use ProPhoto RGB for master files. Make all output specific derivatives from them.

Use sRGB for the web. If a browser isn’t color management compliant, colors won’t be distorted as much as wider gamut color spaces. Use sRGB for derivative files.

“How do I set color space on a digital camera?”

Camera interfaces and terminology vary widely. On the Canon 1Ds Mark II, you can toggle between sRGB and Adobe RGB (1998) by pressing the Menu button and going to the Recording menu (the first icon, a camera), then dialing down to Color matrix and continuing within that to Set up.

Find more digital photography online resources here.

Learn more in my Digital Photography Workshops.

Category: Technique
Tags: , , ,

Using Histograms

December 27, 2010 | 1 Comment

Review Histograms After Exposure

One big advantage of shooting digitally is the ability to view a histogram in the LCD screen on the back of your camera body. A histogram is a graph of the relative distribution of the data in your image from shadows on the left to highlights on the right. You can use a histogram to evaluate not only the tonal distribution but also the quality of your exposures. By viewing the histogram immediately after exposure, you can determine if you need to make additional exposures at alternate settings to get better exposures. Simply program your camera to display a histogram immediately after exposure. You’ll find this immediate feedback will result in much higher success rates.

Don’t Clip

When evaluating a histogram, the primary concern is clipping or loss of data due to underexposure or overexposure. When a histogram ‘hits the wall’ to the left, the image is underexposed. If the histogram ‘hits the wall’ to the right the image is overexposed. This indicates that you should change exposure settings to get a more balanced exposure.

A Camera’s LCD Displays the Histogram of a JPEG

The histogram displayed on the camera represents the information of an image in a converted JPEG state, even if you are shooting in Raw. Because Raw is so flexible, you won’t know what its histogram will look like until it has been processed. Settings on your digital camera will only be applied to JPEG files it creates but they will also influence the histogram preview. Many digital cameras will allow you to set JPEG contrast to a low setting, which reduces the likelihood of clipping and provides a better Raw preview.

Raw Files Have More Data in the Highlights

If you shoot Raw files, you’ll not only have more data  in your files (16-bit instead of 8-bit), you’ll also have the option of processing files yourself with a RAW converter rather than having the camera process it for you. The Raw files you shoot will have more data in the highlights than is indicated by the histogram on a camera’s LCD. Typically there are many more bits of data in the highlights than the shadows. Assuming your photo has a 6-stop dynamic range (6 f-stops between the darkest and lightest parts of the photo) the progressive increase in bits of data looks like this from dark to light: 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048 (see above diagram). Because of this, data in shadows tends to be noisier and of lower quality than data in highlights. So, when shooting in RAW format, favor ‘overexposure’ rather than underexposure; optimal Raw exposure looks overexposed but without clipping. Then, later during processing, darken it. You’ll get better shadow and highlight detail this way. You’ll be amazed at how much highlight detail you can recover.

How to Quickly Achieve Optimal Exposure

In short …
1    Review histograms after exposure
2    Set your camera’s JPEG preview to low contrast
3    Expose the right but don’t clip
4    Darken your Raw files during processing to create a pleasing appearance

1 clipped low

2 poor

3 good

4 better

5 clipped high

6 too contrasty … bracket exposure

Find more online digital photography resources here.

Learn more in my digital photography workshops.

Category: photography, Technique
Tags: , , , ,

Crop or Retouch ?

December 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment



As visual communicators, we’re responsible for everything that’s in the frame; we’re also responsible for everything that’s not in the frame. Deciding what’s in the frame and what’s out is a critical decision that can make or break an image. Here are two essential framing strategies.

1. Use the frame to eliminate distracting information around a subject.

Take extra care with image information that touches the frame, as it will draw extra attention. Do this with significant compositional elements.

2. Eliminate space around a subject to focus a viewer’s attention.

A lot of space between the subject and the frame can be used to call on psychological associations with space, such as freedom or isolation. Some space between the subject and the frame can give the appearance of the subject resting gracefully within the frame. Touching the subject with the frame strongly focuses the attention of the viewer and may seem claustrophobic. Cropping the subject with the frame can focus the attention of the viewer on specific aspects of the subject and/or give an image a tense quality, evoking evasion and incompleteness—this often seems accidental if less than half the subject is revealed.

There’s more than one way to apply these strategies. While cropping techniques are simple to practice, the reasons for their application and the choices made about how to apply them, as well as the final effects, may be exceptionally complex. You have two choices ..

1. Reposition the frame before exposure.

2. Contract the position of the borders of an image after exposure

If you plan to retouch, you’ll frame and crop differently …

Read more at Digital Photo Pro …

Find more digital photography techniques here.

Learn more in my digital photography worskhops.

Category: Technique
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

It’s challenging to reduce the luminance (light and dark) component of noise without compromising image sharpness; often it requires a careful application of specialized software.

However, you can easily reduce the color component of noise using Photoshop.

Here’s how.

1    Duplicate the Background layer and turn the duplicate layer’s blend mode to Color.
2    Blur the layer (Filter: Blur: Gaussian Blur).



Be careful not to use the blur filter too aggressively. If contours exhibit reduced saturation, use a lower filtration

Using this technique, only the color of an image will be blurred, not its luminance; image sharpness will not be compromised. Luminance noise will persist; other methods are required to remove it.

This industrial strength technique is most useful when dealing with serious color noise when a Raw converter’s features can’t go far enough, such as the larger areas of color noise found in some images from Bayer pattern demosaicing.

Find more online here.

Learn more in my digital printing workshops.

Category: Photoshop, Technique
Tags: , , , , ,

Some noise is random; some noise is fixed. Hot-pixel noise is fixed. What are “hot pixels”? Photosites on digital sensors that generate brighter information faster than their neighbors. Hot pixels get brighter at higher ISOs, with longer exposures, and in warmer temperatures. You can map where hot pixels are and exactly how bright they get under specific conditions with a dark slide. Then you can use a dark slide to drop out fixed “hot-pixel” noise with a simple postprocessing technique in Photoshop.

To make a dark slide, simply make a separate exposure made at the same ISO, exposure time and temperature as the image you intend to use it with. Exposure of what? Darkness. Leave your lens cap on.

To use a dark slide in Photoshop, open the dark slide and the image you’d like to use it with and drag and drop the dark slide into that image file, holding the Shift key to make sure it’s precisely registered (wait to crop or rotate an image until after this is accomplished). Change the blend mode of the dark-slide layer to Difference and watch the hot-pixel noise vanish.

Learn more about making and using dark slides on Digital Photo Pro.

Learn more about noise here.

Learn more in my digital printing workshops.

Category: Photoshop, Technique
Tags: , , ,

Got noise in one exposure? Make a bunch of exposures and watch the noise disappear.

You can reduce noise in an image by combining multiple exposures of the same composition in Photoshop. Photoshop can search for the differences between the separate exposures and then blend them, keeping what stays the same and eliminating what changes. Random noise between separate exposures of the same composition will be substantially, even dramatically, reduced or disappear altogether. (This technique won’t eliminate fixed noise, hot pixels, or column and row noise. There are other techniques for that, like using dark slides.)

You’ll find having this option will greatly reduce any reluctance you have toward using high ISOs. This means two things. You’ll be able to make images in lighting situations you thought you couldn’t, and you’ll be able to make handheld exposures in conditions you ordinarily wouldn’t be able to without severely compromising quality.

So how do you do this? Use the following steps.

1. Shoot multiple exposures.
Try to minimize camera motion as much as possible. It’s not necessary to use a tripod, but it’s helpful2
2. In Photoshop, go to File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack.
3. Click Browse and select the exposures to be used in the Stack and check Attempt to Automatically Align Source Images and Create Smart Object after Loading Layers.
This will create a single Smart Object from the multiple exposures. Double-clicking on this Smart Object will allow you to see the layers separately.
4. Go to Layer > Smart Objects > Image Stack Mode > Median to blend the separate exposures.
You’ll see that the noise is re-duced substantially.
5. Optionally, compare Image Stack Mode > Mean.
This works best for exposures containing no movement.

Read more about this technique at Digital Photo Pro.

Learn more about noise here.

Learn more in my digital printing workshops.

Category: Photoshop, Technique
Tags: , , , ,

My assistant, Charles Adams, spent this years Maine Fall Foliage Workshop photographing with the iPhone. Below he talks about his experience.

“Making images with an iPhone can be a terrific creative exercise. If you regularly shoot with a DSLR, the iPhone can simplify things and offer a new experience. I found this to be the case during this years fall foliage workshop. I left my Canon in the car along with all of the photographic requirements and responsibilities that I usually attach to it. It was a freeing experience. Suddenly the pressure to make the best photographs of my life was no longer there. I was free to play.

Being able to process your images seconds after shooting them is also key to the iPhone experience. The many apps available make it possible to shoot, edit, share, and get feedback before even getting back in the car. In my case, apps had a direct effect on which pictures I chose to make. I knew I was going to apply water color and oil painting filters to my images, so I tried to shoot accordingly. I set out to find good compositions with strong “bones.” “Bones” meaning solid structure that could benefit from the addition of dramatic effects.

The resulting images were fun to create. Changing the tools you use to make your images can offer new insights into your own photography. I strongly recommend allowing yourself to play.”

Visit Charles’ website here.

Find out about my digital photography workshops here.

Category: App, Cell Phone, Cell Phones Inspire Creativity, Exercises, iPhone, Photographers, photography, Technique, Workshops
Tags: , , ,

glossary_dano

Thought you knew what a hickey was? Never knew paper had a tooth? Had no idea it out gasses? Learn these terms and you’ll not only be able to speak more knowledgeably about printing, you’ll also know what to look for in prints and how to get the best results in your prints.

Epson’s Dan Steinhardt assembled a great Glossary of Fine Art Related Terms.

It’s not published; it’s a useful resource that’s circulated around the web.

Dano generously shares it with us here!

Thanks Dano!

Find out more about Dan Steinhardt here.

Bookmark this post and you’ll be able to quickly find terms anytime anywhere.

.

Dano’s Glossary of Fine Art Related Terms

Abrasion Resistance

The resistance to scratching of a surface of paper by other paper surfaces or other materials.

Absorbency

The ability of a material to take up moisture.

Acid Free

(Neutral pH of 7.0) During paper production, treatment employed with a mild base is employed to neutralize the natural acids occurring in wood pulp.  Buffering may also be used to prevent the formation of additional acids. If prepared properly, papers made from any fiber can be acid free. Read more

Category: Technique
Tags: , , , , , , ,

colorsyncutility

ICC profiles need to be filed in the correct location on your computer for them to be available to applications.

Where do you put them? It depends on the system and version you’re using.

Mac OS X
–    Library / ColorSync / Profiles – storing profiles here allows all Users to use them.
–    Users(Username) / Library / ColorSync / Profiles – storing profiles here makes them available to the current user only .

Windows 7, Vista and XP
–    Windows \ System32 \ Spool \ Drivers \ Color
–    Right click on the profile and select “Install Profile” to copy the profile to the directory.
– Profiles need to be copied manually to the directory to replace profiles.

Mac OS 9.x
–    System / ColorSync / Profiles

Windows 2000 and NT
–    Winnt \ System32 \ Spool \ Drivers \ Color
–    Right click on the profile and select “Install Profile” to copy the profile to the directory.
–    Profiles need to be copied manually to the directory to replace profiles.

Windows ME and 98
–    Windows \ System \ Color
Apple’s ColorSync Utility displays details of individual profiles, shows gamut plots, can rename profiles, validates profile structure, etc.

Microsoft’s has a Control Panel Applet installs and removes profiles, edits internal and external names, creates 3-D gamut plots, compares profiles, etc.

Find more resources here.

Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Printing, Technique
Tags: , , , , , ,

noiseware

Who doesn’t have noise? If you don’t run into noise in your digital images, at least once in a while, you may not be pushing the envelope enough. You can photograph long after dark; if you haven’t tried it, you owe it to yourself to experience this—it’s magical. And if you find you don’t have a DSLR on hand, this should be no reason not to make pictures with a point-and-shoot or cell phone.

Whether you’re using a cell phone, a point-and-shoot digital camera or a DSLR at high ISOs or with very long exposures, you’re bound to run into some noise. Noise happens. When you have it, there’s a lot you can do about it. There are many ways you can reduce noise during postprocessing; you could even say there’s an art to it. Learning these techniques can improve good exposures and save others.

If Lightroom and Photoshop fail to adequately reduce noise in your images, it’s time to move to third-party plug-ins. For years, they’ve done a superior job of reducing noise, and they still do. While there are many fine third-party plug-ins for Photoshop (Noise Ninja, Neat Image, Dfine, etc.), one stands out from all the rest: Imagenomic’s Noiseware Professional.

For me, Noiseware is the most robust noise-reduction software available. Ironically, while it offers the most sophisticated feature set, very often the default settings when you first open an image are all you’re likely to need. In many cases, very little, if any, additional tweaking is necessary …

Read more at Digital PhotoPro.

Find Noiseware here.

Learn more in my workshops.

Category: Software, Technique
Tags: , , ,

Do you need to make your own printer profiles?

Probably not, if you’re using a printer manufacturer’s standard papers.

Yes, if you’re using 3rd party or exotic substrates or inks.

Is it hard?

No! This video highlights several easy solutions.

Learn more on my DVD Fine Art Digital Printing.

Learn even more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops series.

Category: Printing, r/evolution, Technique, Video
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Exposing for HDR

February 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Learn what you need to do during exposure to make the best HDR merges.
And what to look out for.

I cover a full range of techniques to extend dynamic range in my DVD.
XDR – Extending Dynamic Range – HDR Imaging.

Category: r/evolution, Technique, Video
Tags: , , , , ,

proofunderglass
It’s an excellent idea to evaluate final proofs under glass (or plexiglass). This is particularly true if you’re using very thick or low grade glass. Often, when see under glass the print appears ever so slightly darker, lower contrast, and sometimes greener. There’s no ideal glass or plexiglass to evaluate proofs with. Use whatever the print will be viewed under. What you want to be able to do is adjust subsequent proofs so they look ideal in the final viewing state of the print, which is rarely bare.

Find out more with my free Lessons.
View more on my DVDs Fine Art Digital Printing and Fine Art Workflow.
Learn more in my Workshops.

Category: Printing, Technique
Tags: , , ,

keep looking »

Subscribe

Get the RSS Feed  

Subscribe by Email


    Categories

  • Archives

    • Blogroll

    Topics & Friends