Advanced Photography Techniques

September 1, 2010

Master Your Image Library

Working on location, travel and generally being mobile require you to rethink how you can best manage your image library for maximum access

Text And Photography By George Jardine
To merge, or not to merge. That is the question. Imagine a time in the not-so-distant future when you truly have just one window into your entire digital photo library. This means, no matter where you are, and no matter what sort of device you’re using, you’ll be able to easily access any photograph you’ve taken since the dawn of digital (admittedly,... Read more
May 15, 2010

Digital Manipulation And The Flair Of Subtlety

Digital photography has transformed the fine-art world.

By Amanda Quintenz-Fiedler, Photography Mallory Morrison
Digital photography has transformed the fine-art world. Beyond merely allowing commercial photographers to produce more efficient and cost-effective imagery, the digital revolution presents artists with new tools to create broad-reaching, high-impact images that can be seen around the world, instantly, with the click of a button. The potential of the... Read more
March 30, 2010

The Balancing Act Of Flash On Location

As professional photographers let go of their expensive studio spaces and make the world their studio, it’s time to examine the needs of a photographer on the go.

By Mark Edward Harris
As professional photographers let go of their expensive studio spaces and make the world their studio, it’s time to examine the needs of a photographer on the go. When studios were the norm, most pros had a space where they’d keep a number of power packs, stands, heads and all manner of modifiers. Today, we’re all working meaner and leaner, and... Read more
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March 1, 2010

Managing Your Photographic Legacy: Part 2

Taking a long-term perspective on creating your digital archive

Text & Photography By George Jardine
In all the years I was traveling and giving talks to photo groups on Adobe products and end-to-end digital workflows, the number of photographers I met who had truly developed a rational system for managing their digital library was very small. In retrospect, this isn’t all that surprising, given the sea change photographers were experiencing trying... Read more
September 10, 2009

Dialing In Skin Tone

For fashion, beauty, portrait and wedding photographers, the advent of digital photography has been a godsend.

By David Schloss
Getting skin tones right is critical. When you’re shooting, you can be sure your tones are good by using the D-SLR’s histogram in Luminance mode. You can see that although the histogram is stacked to the left due to the dark background and the dramatic lighting, the midtones, where skin is represented, are looking good. This is a tricky image to... Read more
April 23, 2009

DPP Solutions: When You Need A Big File

With the right software, you can increase resolution and maintain top image quality

By Mike Stensvold
You can’t beat megapixels when you need big prints. Genuine Fractals 6 Professional Edition from onOne Software gives you more pixels—incredibly good pixels—from a digital image. That’s enough pixels to make a 4×6-foot print at 300 dpi from a 6-megapixel original image, or a 6×9-foot print at 300 dpi from a 12-megapixel original—or... Read more
April 9, 2009

Black & White

From capture to final output, there are many pieces to the puzzle for producing the ultimate black-and-white images

Dave Willis And Mike Stensvold
Getting a great black-and-white print is easier than ever. Deciding the best way to get there is the hard part. The more you understand about the black-and-white process, the better the prints you’ll produce. While a single perfect method won’t work for every image, there are plenty of routes for optimizing the unique properties of individual black-and-white... Read more
February 5, 2009

Light Lessons

To craft a photograph is to craft the light. While it’s often relegated to a subordinate role to composition, lighting is at least as critical to the photograph and should be thought of as an integral part of the process.

By Urs Recher
Image 1: Camera Format: Medium-format with digital back Resolution/ISO: 22 MP/ISO 50 Focal Length: 120mm Shutter Speed: 1 125 sec. ƒ-stop: ƒ/8 To craft a photograph is to craft the light. While it’s often relegated to a subordinate role to composition, lighting is at least as critical to the photograph and should be thought of as an integral part... Read more
November 20, 2008

Pro Tips: Chromozones

There seem to be two paths to becoming a rich and famous photographer: 1) Go to photo school; and 2) Assist for a great photographer. I chose the former route, and apparently I should have chosen the latter because I’m neither rich nor famous. But I’m a working photographer, and I did learn a lot of great things in school—not the least of which was how to create any color with strobes and gels.

By DPPMag
Armed with this information, you can create almost any color under the sun, right inside your studio.
There seem to be two paths to becoming a rich and famous photographer: 1) Go to photo school; and 2) Assist for a great photographer. I chose the former route, and apparently I should have chosen the latter because I’m neither rich nor famous. But I’m a working photographer, and I did learn a lot of great things in school—not the least of which... Read more
November 1, 2008

DPP Solutions: Image Optimization For The Web, Part I

How to evaluate and quickly set up your images for web usage

By Jim Goldstein
First impressions can make or break a photographer. Prospective clients and photo buyers alike who surf the web for interesting photographic work can and will pass judgment on you, for good or bad, in a matter of seconds. While many photographers become absorbed by web design, others look past the essential skill of optimizing images for web-based viewing.... Read more