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DPP Solutions: AV File Formats
As you get into multimedia, the alphabet soup of file formats can be confusing. Here’s a quick reference guide to common file types. The following is an annotated list of the data file types you may...
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Creative Sharpening
Use Unsharp Mask for artistic effects 1) Image unsharpened 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...
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The RAW File Shuffle
How to keep organized and sane when you’re working and reworking your RAW files Adobe Photoshop has been around for 21 years now. Given that, I think it's safe to say that we're finally dealing with an...
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DPP Solutions: Get Connected
A quick guide to the interfaces for video and audio that you’ll encounter as you get into working with motion Connecting a DSLR to a peripheral used to be simple. You had a USB cable, a card...
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Layers & Creative Sharpening
Gain more control with sharpening layers 1a) Sharpening Layer Blend mode set to Normal 1b) Sharpening Layer Blend mode set to Luminosity In the September/October issue of DPP, we discussed creative...
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The Biggest Shoot Of Your Life
For a young professional, building your book is a daunting task. Here’s how Rachel Whaley, a 21-year-old, California-based professional, planned and executed a high-concept, multiday spec shoot. There...
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Photo Books 101
The revolution in self-publishing has opened the door for professionals to create commercial-quality photo books for portfolios, promo pieces and leave-behinds Digital image files have made it simple...
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The Right Resolution
The conventional wisdom says set 300 dpi and forget it, but it turns out that there’s more to optimizing image resolution for fine-art printing There seems to be some confusion in the industry about...
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The Art & Craft Of Modern Storytelling
How to make a compelling photo essay in the Internet age Michael Freeman is a virtuoso of the photo essay. In this article, we show several images from his project on tea. It's destined to be a full...
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Shooting For Post
How to be an efficient photographer by shooting with the Photoshop work in mind FINAL IMAGE Everyone has heard the expression "I'll fix it in Photoshop." Usually, blowing off details when you shoot...
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High Pass Sharpening
Try this advanced technique for creative sharpening effects 1) Image before High Pass sharpening There are three methods of sharpening in Photoshop that we should all be aware of: Luminance, Edge and...
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Going Viral
August Bradley’s personal project “99 Faces of Occupy Wall St.” was simple to execute and brought immediate media attention as it caught fire online August Bradley is known for photography that's...
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Output Sharpening
Automate the process for best results 1) Before output sharpening Image source, frequency of detail, subject, personal preference, output device, substrate or presentation device, and presentation size...
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Car Shots
How to take pro-level automobile pictures 1962 Cadillac Interior, Costa Mesa, CA Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon 17-35mm lens at 17mm, 1⁄15 sec., ƒ/16. There's nothing like the interior of an early '60s...
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Lighting For B&W
Whether you’re shooting with strobes, flash, continuous lights or ambient, check out these high-key techniques for black-and-white portraits with an edge High-key black-and-white portraiture has been...
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Double Pass & Hybrid Sharpening
Get the best of USM and High Pass techniques\ 4) Hybrid sharpening combining both Unsharp Mask and High Pass Different sharpening techniques make the world look different. A world of difference can be...
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Sharpening With HDR Software
Enhance detail by boosting the differences between neighboring tones HDR software is most typically used to render shadow and highlight detail, but it also can be used to enhance tonal separation and...
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Proper Exposure Matters!
Translating the film-based Zone System to a digital way of shooting and seeing There are differences between the way film responds to quantities of light and how a digital sensor responds. The Zone...
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The Frame Itself
Explore the expressive possibilities of aspect ratio The proportion of an image's frame (or aspect ratio) is a fundamental part of the statement it makes. Aspect ratio influences the way both the...
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Viva Lucha Libre!
How Douglas Sonders used an iPad to build trust and photograph the colorful cast of characters of the Mexican wrestling community Douglas Sonders is one of the most accomplished professional...
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Beyond ETTR And HDR
32-bit processing in Lightroom 9) The final image rendering 8) Five-shot exposure-bracketing sequence, plus 32-bit merge in Lightroom To one degree or another, we've all been underexposing our digital...
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Extended Depth Of Field
Focus stacking defeats the limits of optics How deep would you like your depth of field? The choice is yours. Today, there are virtually no limits. You can extend depth of field beyond the physical...
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Manage The Blur
How to use shutter angles for creative control in your motion-capture work Above and below: in these two scenes at the track, you can see the effect of using different shutter angles. These are frame...
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Extending Format
These techniques are for much more than panoramas No one needs to learn to "think outside the box" more than photographers. The frame, literally a box, is often our greatest ally. Learning to see...
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Take More Control Over Highlights & Shadows
Use new controls in Lightroom 4 and Adobe Camera Raw 7 to fine-tune the yin and yang of your photographs Just when you're becoming comfortable with image controls in your editor of choice, an update...
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iPhone Photojournalism
Michael Christopher Brown uses an unlikely device to create iconic news photos that wouldn’t be possible with a DSLR Inside a club in Goma, Congo, where cameras weren't allowed. When journalists use...
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How To Go Big
Get more resolution from your camera with these three key techniques: Upsample, Stack, Stitch 1) Images with low-frequency detail can be upsampled dramatically There are several ways to get more...
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Cover Shot: Learning To Relax
Markus Klinko and Indrani continue to broaden their horizons while returning to what matters the most: the image Markus Klinko and Indrani have created absolutely iconic portraiture of everyone from...
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DNG File Format & DNG Converter
In this excerpt from his book, digital master photographer and Photoshop Alpha-tester Jeff Schewe demystifies the DNG format for today and for the future Given the very real problem of the rapid...
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Old School For The New School
An analog wet-plate processing primer for digital photographersThe resurgence of wet-plate photography among young photographers is about reconnecting with the process, as well as seeing the results....
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Dividing The Frame
An analog wet-plate processing primer for digital photographers 1a, 1b) Before and after cropping The four most important lines of any image are the ones that are often least recognized consciously:...
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Heresy In Library Organization
Keep track of an ever-expanding digital archive by getting things right from the start Scanning the horizon, there are so-called workflow tutorials everywhere you look. Each and every one of them is...
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DPP Solutions: Blog It!
Try this simple method for exporting photos directly from Lightroom to a WordPress blog The LR/Blog plug-in streamlines the process of posting multiple images to your blog. I'm a photographer, and I...
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Animate your Stills
The latest trend for photos online is making parts of them move. We’ll show you how to do it. 1) To work with video files, you need Photoshop to be in 32-bit mode. Right-click on the application and go...
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Blending Channels
In the first of two articles, we examine the fundamentals of this powerful Photoshop tool 1) Before blending channels, underexposure causes shadow problems. 2) After blending channels, detail is...
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Time-Lapse Primer
Preston Kanak takes us through the skills, steps and gear to making your first time-lapse Some of the most popular time-lapse subjects are nature scenes. For your first forays into this kind of...
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Blending Channels Part II
More on how and when to use this powerful Photoshop tool 1) Before blending channels, overexposure causes highlights problems. In the July/August issue of DPP, we explored the fundamentals of blending...
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DPP Solutions: New Features In Lightroom 5
The latest version of Adobe’s workhorse software has some particularly useful toolsAdobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 2013 has been a big year for Adobe. Their biggest announcement, of course, was the change...
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It's Hip To Be Square
Changing the shape of your frame can give you a completely different perspective on the world The square format was common in the era of film and twin-lens reflex cameras. Many current cameras give you...
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Why Make Prints
The process of evaluating, editing and prepping an image for making a print refines and consolidates your vision Despite the ubiquity of images that are shared entirely in digital form, via computer...
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Tone Curves
This often misunderstood control is as much about brightness as contrast I recently read one popular author's introduction to his chapter on the Lightroom Tone Curve, and he started out by saying that...
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Controlling Blur Effects
Guide the viewer through your images by controlling sharpness 1) Original image Photographers use blur (or bokeh) for a variety of reasons: to simulate depth of field, to add interesting visual...
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Mothership & Scout
How to work with photos on location and seamlessly integrate them back into your studio’s system working with Apple Aperture As the plane clears 10,000 feet, I open up my MacBook Air and launch...
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Photoshop Blur Filters, Part I
Take complete control of the blur effect in your images in the computer 1) Original image There are many reasons to explore blur in your images: remove distractions, direct attention, enhance space,...
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Photoshop Blur Filters, Part 2
How to use Smart Filters, Blur Tools and Blur Effects to control blur in your images 1) Radial Blur This is the second of a two-part column about creative blur techniques. Inducing blur in a sharp...
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The Hero Image
The evolution of a shoot with Corey Rich Despite beginning the set of images with the intention of using multiple Profoto strobe heads, the final image (below) is almost all natural light with a bit of...
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More Than RAW Processing
How Adobe Camera Raw as a filter changes workflow 1) Before ACR Filter; 2) After ACR Filter (split White Balance, local Clarity) Photoshop CC introduced a long-awaited feature that will change how you...
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Autofocus Evolution
Radical advancements in AF technology are blowing away old assumptions about phase- and contrast-detection systems. Set your old assumptions aside and look at what’s available today and what’s coming...
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Past & Presence
Douglas Dubler created a historical and artistic project that was ideally suited to the unique qualities of the legendary Polaroid 20x24 camera In a meditative study for both the photographer, famed...
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Smarten Up!
The ins and outs of Smart Objects 2) Adobe Camera Raw to Smart Object Smart Objects are smart layers, and they have been in Photoshop for years. They have been evolving, but few people truly understand...
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