Tag: Software

Areas of an image lost to overexposure or excessive brightness can seldom be recovered, and digital sensors tend to be particularly sensitive to excessive burning in whites and brights. This “highlight clipping” occurs when the photosites of the sensor fill with the maximum amount of information they're capable of containing. In other words, the image becomes blown out.

H.G. Wells once said, “Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable imperative.” Sounds pretty harsh, but many would say it’s reality. To meet this imperative, today’s photography adapts with digital innovation and imagination and addresses the restraints of time and knowledge.

Do you use Adobe RGB? Is sRGB a pro format? Should pros really start using ColorMatch RGB? Or is there some other new color space permutation that will give even better results? The problem with this discussion on color space is that it assumes the digital camera has captured the correct colors in the first place and that all you need is the right color space to get the most from those colors. Digital cameras don’t quite work that way, unfortunately.

In October 2005, amid the backdrop of the PhotoPlus trade show in New York, Apple unleashed a new software package for professional photographers: Aperture. Developed secretly and introduced with the usual flair for the dramatic that’s now synonymous with an Apple product announcement, the new application has generated more excitement than just about any other software product in quite some time.

Film required a simple filing system. Mine consisted of slide sheets grouped by subject and stored in a file cabinet. I maintained simple notes on the slide mounts for dates, subject and location, plus a basic database. This worked well for me—until I went digital.

For a pro, presentation is everything. Just as a finely crafted portfolio case adds value to your images, a little design work with page layout software can show off your photography in the best possible light. With programs such as Adobe’s InDesign or Quark’s QuarkXpress, it’s simple to put multiple images on a page, add your company’s logo and include additional text if appropriate to your pitch.

I’m a digital photographer, not so much because of the digital part, more for the photography. I prefer shooting, but I don’t mind the challenges of digital imaging that can take a photograph from good to great. The problem is that shooting and retouching are only part of the equation. So much time is spent managing files—downloading, archiving, proofing, processing—that repeating these tasks on a daily basis is bound to drive any photographer to a realization: automation is essential.

Photoshop Lightroom was one of the most highly anticipated software packages ever for professional photographers. It’s not a stretch to say that in an era when organization and efficient workflow are paramount, Lightroom probably captures more attention than even the new release of Photoshop CS3. Lightroom isn’t meant to be a replacement for Photoshop. It’s meant to exist side by side with the heavy processing power of Photoshop as a tool to help you efficiently handle workflow and many of the routine image-processing tasks.

The ability to reproduce detail is one of the essential characteristics that defines the photographic medium. While there are many similarities between the camera eye and the human eye, there are also significant differences between the two. One of the most significant differences is that the camera eye can achieve a much greater area of focus than the human eye can at one time. This has never been more true than today.

Every 18 months or so, Adobe blesses the imaging community with a new update to its 17-year-old flagship product. Looking at a new version of Photoshop for the first time and discovering new features that will positively affect my photographic work is always exciting. Photoshop’s audience, as well as the focus of the product, has evolved over the years. As Photoshop CS3 hits store shelves, here’s a look at the new features that are targeted to the professional photographer end user.

The ability to work in specific areas of an image with unparalleled precision and repeatable results, along with the ability to combine multiple exposures seamlessly and flexibly, are two key advances that are propelling the current revolution in photographic practice. Still, selection and masking are topics that plague many longtime Photoshop users. This whirlwind tour will demystify the process and set you well on your way to mastering these essential skills.

Digital imaging offers the ability to define complex contours efficiently and precisely, enabling users to affect an image in very specific areas. What was once tedious and challenging is now quick and easy. Once you learn a few essential selection and masking techniques, few contours will elude your grasp. Before I continue, let me caution you against defining contours too precisely. Remember, contours in continuous-tone images are often quite soft. What’s more, many times photographers simply need to define broad areas to work smooth transitions into surrounding areas. Just because you can define contours precisely doesn’t mean you should, but it’s advantageous to have the option when you need to.

Since you’re reading this magazine, you already know that photography in the digital age is breaking all the old rules and pushing the limits of film. Across these pages, digital capture, versatile software and artistry combine to fulfill creative vision that might have been imaginable 10 years ago, but not achievable. Now another barrier—the physical limits of depth of field—is overcome by software called Helicon Focus.

Today’s technology makes it relatively easy to turn a series of photos into multimedia presentations with audio for even more impact. You can add audio to your still images to tell a story even better, and equally important, provide additional marketing opportunities—there are more places to sell multimedia presentations than there are to sell still images alone, including broadcast media. Multimedia presentations also are a great way to present what you do photographically to potential clients. They provide a new creative challenge, too.

In a previous article, I explained “Color Choice Isn’t By Chance” (Digital Photo Pro, July/August 2007). The premise is that today’s digital photography hardware and software provide a plethora of features and performance that interact to enable more control and creative options than ever before. When you understand how each tool operates, and how combinations of tools can interact, you have the opportunity to enhance original images as never before.