Review Digital Camera World 01-31-2014

Digital Camera World

Many wonderful memories are captured in black and white. With digital photographs, the art is now in creating black and white images. This course will teach you how to use Photoshop techniques to create beautiful images. From our sponsors

White balance explained: how cameras correct the color of different types of light Jan 31st 2014, 00:01, by jmeyer The White Balance setting you choose will change the colour balance in your pictures, making it warmer or cooler depending on how the sort of light you're shooting in affects things. Using Auto White Balance is the simple option, but your camera's White Balance presets give you more control over colour. In this tutorial we’ll explain exactly how these work and how to fine-tune your white balance settings to ensure the most accurate colours possible. Click on the infographic to see the larger version The colour of the light will affect the colours in your photographs. You probably won't notice this with the naked eye because our minds adapt very quickly to perceive the colour of the light as neutral, even when it's not. The camera is less forgiving, and records colours exactly as they are. That's why pictures taken under household lighting have an orange colour cast, and pictures taken at dusk or dawn have a cold, blue look. Digital cameras have 'White Balance' controls to correct these colour shifts. This adjustment happens when the camera processes and saves your pictures. For example, if you take a picture under incandescent lighting, the camera can reduce the amount of orange in the colours and boost the blue to produce more neutral colours. SEE MORE: Beginner photography tips – the most common mistakes (and how to avoid them Auto or presets? You can leave the camera to work out the White Balance automatically. Auto White Balance systems in cameras are constantly being improved, and the results you get now are certainly much better they were in the early days. Even so, they're not foolproof. Auto White Balance may fail to correct certain kinds of lighting strongly enough. This often happens with artificial lighting, which may still produce a warm colour cast even with auto White Balance switched on. You may find that the auto White Balance corrects colour casts when you don't want it to. This can happen with sunsets or landscapes, where the colour of the light is an integral part of the picture. This is why most DSLRs come with White Balance 'presets'. These are tuned to provide a fixed correction for common lighting scenarios. The camera relies on you to choose the right setting for the scene. This involves more effort than using the auto White Balance option, but it puts you back in control and does give better results. SEE MORE: What is ISO – when to increase sensitivity, types of noise and more Raw power The alternative is to shoot raw files rather than JPEGs. With JPEGs, the camera will discard 'unwanted' colour data according to your White Balance setting. You can't get it back, even if you realise you've made a mistake. Raw files, however, retain all the colour data captured by the sensor. The camera will embed your White Balance setting in the file as a default, but it's purely advisory – you can choose a different setting on your computer later. It's still useful to set the White Balance on the camera. It will save time later if your RAW files have the best White Balance setting applied, and by choosing a consistent White Balance during your shoot, you ensure that the colour rendition will be consistent across all your shots. While it's tempting to leave your camera set to auto White Balance and trust it to get the right colours, you'll get better, more consistent results if you take control of the White Balance yourself.  SEE MORE: How to set up a camera for the first time – 11 things you need to do first The White Balance 'tint' value is adjusted on a green-magenta scale. Tint vs Temperature White Balance settings are worked out according to colour temperature settings, which go from amber through white to blue, but there is a secondary 'tint' adjustment that adds a green-magenta shift. This can be used for manual White Balance fine-tuning on the camera. Raw converters like Adobe Camera Raw use Tint alongside Temperature as an integral part of White Balance adjustments. PAGE 1: White balance explained PAGE 2: How to preset white balance manually PAGE 3: White balance fine-tuning PAGE 4: White balance and raw converters READ MORE 99 common photography problems (and how to solve them) 44 essential digital camera tips and tricks 10 common camera mistakes every photographer makes Breaking bad photo habits: 10 classic blunders and easy ways to improve Learn photography: classic tips and tutorials for shooting popular subjects 6 portrait editing tricks for timeless and on-trend images Jan 30th 2014, 12:39, by jmeyer In our latest portrait photography cheat sheets we illustrate the effects of 6 different portrait editing tricks you can use to add some creativity to your portraits. When you've got to grips with the basics of portrait photography, why not unleash your creativity and give your portraits even more impact? Whether it's using a nifty accessory, indulging in some digital darkroom skullduggery or simply daring to challenge the conventions, there are plenty of ways to make your mark. The important thing to remember is that every portrait tells a story about the subject, and because each subject is different you'll need to adapt the way in which you approach each subject. It's a good idea to talk to your subject first and get an idea of who they are, what they want their portrait to look like or what you want to portray. Whether you're shooting a model's portfolio, a formal corporate headshot or some warm and cheery family portraits you'll need to make creative decisions about lighting, lenses, camera angles, lenses and more. Here are a few ideas, tips and techniques – both in-camera and in post-processing – that'll give your images that extra pizazz. SEE MORE: 10 portrait photography mistakes every photographer makes (and how to avoid them) 3 portrait editing tricks for timeless images Click on the infographic or drag and drop to your desktop to see the larger version. 01 Soft focus Soft focus techniques have been used in portraiture since the very beginnings of photography. The ethereal and dreamlike impression it evokes can look desirable if applied with caution. However, it's very easy to go the other way and your shots could easily end up looking like some horrendous flashback to the 1980s. In-camera techniques such as using filters, Vaseline or even stockings can work a treat, but you can also get great results using blur filters in Photoshop, and you can revert to your original if you've added the effect in Photoshop and don't like it after all. SEE MORE: Orton Effect – try this quick, soft-focus Photoshop trick 02 Black and white Portraits can look great in black and white. Shifting to monochrome can reduce the visibility of some skin imperfections. Switch your camera's preview mode to monochromatic so you can previsualise the end result at the time of capture. It will help you to get the lights set up for the effect you want, whether that's a dark and moody image with plenty of shadows or a bright high-key shot against a white background. If you shoot in RAW you can always revert to the colour file if you or your subject decide that a monochrome look isn't actually wanted. SEE MORE: Black and white photography – what you need to know for perfect mono pictures 03 Retouch Most portraits could do with some basic retouching in the digital darkroom. The Healing and Clone tools are ideal for removing unwanted blemishes, and there are various techniques and plug-ins that can used to smooth skin, whiten eyes and teeth and even help shed a few pounds. However, it's crucial that you don't go over the top – there's nothing worse than seeing an 'overcooked' portrait with hyper-smooth skin. The art of a good retouch is subtly improve on but celebrate the wonders of your subject's features (even the wrinkles!) rather than obliterate them. SEE MORE: Free family portrait photography cheat sheet 3 portrait editing tricks for on-trend images 01 CROSS PROCESSED The cross-processed look is all the rage, especially after being popularised by smartphone apps such as Instagram and Snapseed. The characteristic saturated colours and increased contrast are easily replicated in Photoshop using Curves or Levels. SEE MORE: Cross processing – a simple, but effective, way to get this classic effect in Photoshop 02 MONTAGE Using some basic image editing skills it's fairly easy to transport your subject into a new scene. Shooting your subject against a plain background makes it much easier to create a digital cut out. We did a guide to this in issue 16 – turn to page 38 to find out how to get a copy. 03 GOOD CROP, BAD CROP Don't be afraid to be bold with your cropping – either when shooting (by zooming in or moving closer), or in post-production. There's a general misconception that the whole of a subject's head should be in the frame, but it doesn't need to be, and more often than not a tight crop into the head can work wonders for the composition. READ MORE 54 Portrait Ideas: free downloadable posing guide 40 More Portrait Ideas: part 2 of our free downloadable posing guide Photoshop effects: how to recreate the look of a medium format portrait How to mimic studio lighting for stylish portraits

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions