Polarizers are perhaps the single most important filter for digital photographers, but you need to know how to use yours correctly if you want the best results. In this week’s video, I’ll explain everything you need to know about using polarizers to get the look you desire.
If you are in the market for a camera, especially a compact or fixed lens point and shoot camera, you’ve probably come across the terms optical and digital zoom. But what do these phrases mean? Is one type of zoom better than another? Camera manufacturers use all kinds of jargon to entice you to buy their products, but the important fundamentals are actually quite straightforward. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will be better informed on all things zoom.
In this week’s video, I’m going to show the story behind a photo I took a few days ago in Great Sand Dunes National Park. Because it’s our first case study video at Photography Life, I wanted to shoot an image that I already had in mind – hopefully lowering my chances of returning empty-handed. In the end, I definitely got a photo I like from the dunes. But it didn’t happen quite how I had expected.
I’ve now been using the Nikon Z7 for more than six months, and I’ve also tested the very similar Z6 extensively for our review at Photography Life. The takeaway in both cases is that, despite a few flaws, Nikon produced an excellent and surprisingly refined first-generation mirrorless camera. But the more I use the Z7, especially side by side with my older D800e, some of the mirrorless camera’s strengths really shine for my favorite genre – landscape photography.
In this article, we will examine the various factors that affect saturation, including different approaches to obtain optimal saturation in post-processing (Photoshop) without making our image look unnatural. Lately, the internet and social media are filled with oversaturated images, thanks largely to heavy-handed filters and presets in post-processing software and apps. That’s precisely why this article’s title is How to Get “Optimal” Saturation and not “Maximum” saturation.
Today, I’m excited to publish the first in a series of weekly YouTube videos from Photography Life! This is something Nasim and I have planned for a while, and circumstances finally conspired to make it a reality. We’ll film everything in 4K: tutorials and case studies, with the same high standards as our articles. For the first video, I wanted to do an introduction to macro photography, since that’s reason I became a photographer in the first place.
Many people misunderstand the concept of focal length in photography. Contrary to what some photographers think, the focal length of a lens is not the lens’s physical dimension. So, what is focal length then? In this article, I will answer that question and discuss how to decide which focal length is right for your style of photography.
With the introduction of Canon’s first full-frame mirrorless camera, the EOS R, an important challenge arose: releasing spectacular lenses that convinced photographers of the new system’s potential. The first two “crown jewel” lenses in the new lineup are the RF 28-70mm f/2L zoom and the RF 50mm f/1.2L – the second of which we will be reviewing today.
With spring arriving in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time again for many of us to go outside in humid, buggy areas in search of creepy-crawlies. Macro photography is… peculiar, I admit that. But anyone who’s tried this genre also knows its allure. Navigate some technical hurdles and heed the mosquitos, and you’ll find whole universes of photographs to capture in your backyard. If you’re just beginning macro photography, the following tips will show you where to start.
It’s one of the most familiar stories that I hear: “You wouldn’t believe how difficult it was to take this photo. I captured it on the hardest hike of my life, but it was absolutely worth the effort.” And then the photo – though rarely a complete failure – just isn’t up to the standard of the photographer’s other work. Sometimes, it seems, photographers confuse a photo that was difficult to capture with one that truly succeeds.
I am currently in Uzbekistan, doing some photo work for the ministry of tourism (more on the trip in my upcoming posts) and I wanted to quickly share my experience with a piece of gear that I will now be bringing with me to every trip going forward. When photographing strangers while traveling, I have always struggled with the issue of being able to deliver images to those who asked for them.
Late last night, Sony announced the RX0 II, a new 15.3-megapixel action camera that looks very promising even for advanced photographers. With a 1-inch sensor and a fixed, rectilinear 8mm f/4 lens (24mm field of view equivalent) – and the lightest ever weight for a camera of this sensor size – its potential extends beyond the GoPro market. Specifically, I can see many travel photographers who want a tiny backup camera (132 grams / 4.7 oz) picking the RX0 II. Read more below.
One of the most useful techniques in photography is called bracketing – in other words, taking multiple photos of the same subject with different camera settings. Commonly, bracketing is about changing your exposure: one photo at the meter’s recommendation, plus one under and one over. But exposure isn’t the only variable at play here. Below, this article explains everything you need to know about bracketing, including how and when to use it to take the best possible photos.
The Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is the first kit lens introduced with the new EOS R full-frame mirrorless system. The term ‘kit lens’ is misleading, though, as the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM bears Canon’s L designation and promises professional-level performance. At the time of publishing this article, the only other RF zoom lens is the bulky and expensive Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L lens, which is a much more specialized offering. The RF 24-105mm f/4, on the other hand, is a generalist lens in many ways. Its focal range works well for landscape photography, portraiture, photojournalism, travel photography, and many other genres.
I know, I know. After the 2012-2017 Great Equivalence War, photographers everywhere agreed never to utter that word again. Nasim’s famous quote, “Everyone is right, everyone is wrong,” has been etched both into the peace treaty and into the hearts of millions. However, as we near the two-year anniversary of the ceasefire, it seems that isolationist thoughts – i.e., that equivalence is isolated just to focal length – are resurfacing again. Let’s stop this madness before it’s too late.
I’ve recently been looking at alternatives to Adobe Lightroom for photographers who are considering switching, and one name that keeps coming up is ON1 Photo RAW. Like Lightroom, ON1 is both a photo organizer and a photo editor, although it also differs from its Adobe cousin in some major ways. Is ON1 viable post-processing software? If so, who might find it useful for their photography? The comparison below includes everything you should know if you’re considering a switch.
2018 was a big year for mirrorless cameras with Nikon, Canon, and Panasonic all announcing their first full-frame mirrorless systems. Nikon struck first when it released the Nikon Z-series cameras in the summer, but Canon wasn’t too far behind when they introduced the EOS R a couple of months later. Over the years, Canon has gotten the reputation of a company that likes to sit on its eggs a little too long and certainly an argument can be made that their first entry into the full-frame mirrorless market has come comparatively late. After-all, it usually takes two or three generations of cameras to finally get things right and with other camera companies like Sony, Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic and Leica already having years of experience in mirrorless technology, Canon doesn’t have the privilege of a head start.
In this article, I will go over a simple methodology I use in choosing how to use color in photos. We have masters like Sebastião Salgado who shoots exclusively in black-and-white, Steve McCurry who shoots only in colors and Jimmy Nelson who shoots in muted colors. Shooting in color, in black-and-white, or anywhere in between, has its own appeal, so why don’t we use a mix of all depending on our needs?
How does one use curves in Photoshop? In this article we will take a detailed look at understanding and using one of the most powerful tools in Photoshop, Curves. Even though there are many tools to enhance the contrast in Photoshop, curves are the most effective. Curves go beyond the limitations of merely adjusting the contrast. In this article, in addition to enhancing contrast, we will see how to use the curves tool to color correct images. Before proceeding to how to use curves to enhance contrast with curves, you can go through my article, Understanding Contrast in Photography.
Announced just eight months after the Sigma 100-400mm F/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary lens, the Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD gives photographers a similarly priced alternative to the highly successful Sigma offering. Both lenses compete in a market segment that remains unexploited by the likes of Canon and Nikon.
