Digital Photography Software & Techniques

June 25, 2021

How to Use an Inflatable Pool as a Dramatic Backdrop for Portraits

This DIY backyard set-up will help catch the eye of clients

By Dan Havlik

Here’s a clever do-it-yourself photography project to try out this summer. In the below video, photographer Irene Rudnyk shows you how she set up an inflatable kiddie pool in her backyard and used it as a dramatic backdrop for a portrait/fashion session. “I actually tried doing this concept in my living room this winter, which was honestly... Read more

June 18, 2021

An Easy Way to Do a Realistic Sky Replacement in Photoshop

Photoshop has added new tools to do a professional-level sky replacement in an image.

By Dan Havlik

Replacing a boring sky in an outdoor photo by using software in post-production has gotten really popular lately, mostly because it’s gotten so easy. There are quite a few programs and apps out there that will do sky replacement in an image with the tap of key or the click of a mouse. While these “quick fixes” might be fine if you’re... Read more

June 8, 2021

How to Use Layer Masks in Photoshop: 5 Pro Tips

Get the most out of your Masks while editing your photos

By Dan Havlik

Working with Layer Masks is one of the backbones of image editing in Photoshop. But are you really getting the most out of your Layer Masks or do you find yourself making the same mistakes on your photos again and again? Software guru Colin Smith of photoshopCAFE is someone who has spent his whole career working with Layer Masks and he has some advice... Read more

May 7, 2021

Make Skin Tones Pop in Portraits with This Photoshop Technique

Add depth and shape to skin by creating "Zones" during editing

By Dan Havlik

Portraits don’t always look the way you want them to straight out of the camera. One of the biggest issues can be your subject’s skin tones, which may look dull or flat if not properly lit or if make-up – or a lack thereof – is off. Fortunately, there are many ways to tweak a portrait during post processing. And, of course, one of the... Read more

May 4, 2021

How I Made It: The Story Behind Anabel DFlux’s Powdery Pooch Photo

Dog photographer combines Holi powder and leaping Belgian Malinois into an exhilarating image

By Dan Havlik

Some photo concepts take months of brainstorming to produce. Others hit you like a bolt of lightning. Put Anabel DFlux’s striking shot of a colorfully powered dog leaping through the air in the “bolt of lightning” category. The powder, as we later learned, is similar to Gulal, a non-toxic substance used during the Hindu festival known... Read more

January 25, 2021

Lightroom Pro Tip: How to Use Range Masks to Make Targeted Edits on Photos

Speed up your Lightroom workflow with this great tool for making refined localized adjustments

By Dan Havlik

Adobe Lightroom is an incredibly deep image processing and organizing program full of more editing tools than most of us have the working hours to test out. But what if there was one Lightroom feature that could transform your photos in minutes without compromising their professional quality? If you’re not aware of it already, that tool is called... Read more

June 19, 2019

Adobe Lightroom CC Mobile For Portraits And Candids

Make the most of the mobile version of Lightroom, connect with your subjects and make your potential clients see results in real time

Text & Photography By Brian Matiash

I’ve never been the most prolific practitioner of portrait photography. But I’ve admired those photographers who are as skilled at interacting with their subjects as they are interacting with their camera. So, if I’m working on shooting portraits or candids, as I often am when my wife and I visit family in Nebraska, especially my four adorable... Read more

July 17, 2017

B&W Conversions

Try these creative adjustments using Photoshop, Lightroom and third-party software programs for striking black-and-white images

Text & Photography By Tom Bol

Ballet dancer in Cuba. Photography began with black-and-white images and the darkroom process, where images came to life. Today, photographers have many more choices. Some photographers still shoot black-and-white film and develop in the wet darkroom. But for most photographers, we capture in digital color and decide later if we want to convert to black-and-white.... Read more

May 10, 2017

Adjustments With A Restrained Hand

Faithfully and creatively reproducing your images with careful post-production techniques can yield huge dividends

Text & Photography By Brian Matiash

The left half of this frame shows the original photo, as taken by my camera. I had a 6-stop ND filter applied, which not only allowed me to get this long exposure, it also applied a visible blue tint. The right half is the exact same photo except I applied a custom white balance that targeted the gray part of the rushing water. The improvement is quite... Read more

November 16, 2016

In Your Face: Photography In The Age Of Virtual Reality

Photography In The Age of Virtual Reality

By David Schloss

Just as this issue was going to press, Pokémon GO swept the country. Overnight it seemed like everyone was looking face-down at their phones, flicking pretend balls at pretend creatures. Thanks to the intelligent use of a smartphone’s camera, developer Niantic is able to superimpose the various wild Pokémon in a video stream of the real world, a... Read more

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