Category Archives: Post Processing

Any of the activities associated with the processing of the captured photographic or graphic file.

Nine simple guidelines for great interior shots

• Dining Room • For great interior shots follow the guidelines

• Dining Room • For great interior shots follow the guidelines
Click image to view large
• Dining Room • By Netkonnexion on Flickr External link - opens new tab/page

Photographing interiors is easier with simple rules.

We have all taken interior shots at some time. Indoor subjects are wide ranging. What about when you want to take a picture of the room itself? Here are some simple rules to help you get it right.

Why would you want to take a picture of the room?

Actually there may be many reasons. In the picture above the shot was taken because of the historical interest. It is a record shot. Of course there are lots of other types of shots you might want to take in an interior. Here are some examples…

  • Historical interest
  • Insurance record
  • Design interest
  • Before and after shot
  • House or room for rent
  • Hotel room for holiday snap
  • Hotel room for advertising
  • Colour and décor sampler for decorating plans
  • Sales and marketing photo for building sale purposes
  • Comparison with other places
  • Artistic impressions or interpretation

You get the point. Rooms can have a lot of reasons to be the subject of a photograph.

Some simple guidance…

1. Give yourself a clear purpose for the shot(s): Without such a purpose how will you know the best approach, what to include and exclude and how much of the room to take in. So know why you are doing it and what you hope to gain from the photograph. It helps to write it down.

2. Minimise distractions: As with any type of photography your primary purpose can be affected by distractions in the shot. Think carefully about the purpose of the shot. Remove anything that is discordant or will not add value to that purpose or will distract the eye. Take out objects that are too bright, nothing to do with the shot; something that may confuse the purpose of the shot.

3. Work on the brightness: Remember, the normal lights in a room will probably have a colour cast which will have an impact on the overall colour. If possible use daylight adjusted lights or off camera flash units. Use the flashes to light up specific areas of the room. Highlights like that add to the atmosphere in a room. Be consistent with the natural lighting and any artificial lights that may be in evidence as permanent fittings so the lighting does not look out of place. If you only have the on-camera flash make sure you have it set to a sufficient power to light the whole room. Arrange the furniture so that the light coming from the camera does not leave harsh shadows on the floor in front of you. Flash is inclined to leave such shadows which make the room look very angular and uncomfortable. Rooms that have soft, bright and well lit aspects are more welcoming and give an air of comfort.

4. Windows and doors: These are important parts of a room. Depending on your purpose you may need to show them. If they are looking out onto a bright exterior, or directly to the outside you may have a problem. The outside is quite likely to be much brighter than inside. More than two stops of brightness will almost certainly burn out. This creates a very bright white area of the shot. That’s very distracting. It will take the viewers eye straight away from the subject. One way to counter-act that is to raise the internal light levels so the contrast from inside to out is not so large. That will probably require some additional flash units or other lighting around the room. Alternatively, you could lower the incoming light by closing curtains or the door. However, you light the room remember to use the appropriate white balance settings on your camera. Colour casts can spoil the shot. It is also better to shoot in RAW so you can adjust the colour balance in post processing.

5. Straight lines and verticals: Rooms and interior spaces often look odd in pictures because the straight lines are not straight and the verticals are converging. You must prevent this if your purpose for the shot is to make the room look normal. Use a lens that minimises distortion and set your camera on a level for the shot so it minimises convergence in the upright lines. If you are unable to prevent the lines from bending or converging then make sure you can straighten them in an editing application in post processing. Of course if you are making this photograph for artistic reasons, anything goes.

Langley Library

Use furniture to give the impression of depth.
Place pieces so they look like there is a succession into the depth of the room.

6. Impart depth to the room: Taking just any old shot you will find that the room often looks flat, or lacking in depth. The effect of zoom lenses and maybe an on-camera flash will exaggerate that effect. You can do three things to off-set that effect…

  • Use lines in the room to give the impact of depth as they trend away from you (eg. the table in the top shot above).
  • Create a foreground, mid-ground and far point of the room. Taking a shot with a piece of furniture directly in front of you, something mid-way into the room and something on the far wall will do the trick.
  • Strategic placement of lights down the length of the room will draw the eye down the room too.

7. Adjust comfort levels to suite your purpose for the shot: Every room has what I call a comfort level. It the room is cold and uninviting the comfort level is low. If you intend your room to look like a medical clinic then find ways to give it a low comfort level. Harsh lights, angular furniture, sparse layout… anything that will make it look uncomfortable.

If you want to sell a new home to a home-loving family then you need to raise the comfort level in the room. Soft lights, soft furnishings, rounded corners, bright and inviting cushions… these things help people to feel comfortable. Your pictures should reflect the reason you are taking the picture.

8. Use appropriate lenses: Different lenses have different effects. If you use wide angle lenses they will distort the long dimensions. Use it in portrait view and the lens will appear to make the room look high. If you use a wide angle lens down the length of the room it will make it look long and thin. If you use a zoom lens it will have the effect of foreshortening the room. A 50mm lens will tend to show the room much as the eye would see it. Every room or interior space is going to be interpreted in different ways. The best guidance is to look for a lens that will best exaggerate sizes, or complement dimensions to suit your stated purpose for the shot.

9. People: The inclusion of people in a room can be either a good or bad thing. It all depends on how you want to portray the space and the purpose of the shot. In an entertainment space lots of people enjoying themselves will make the shot good. In a warm, homely room one or two people chilling out and enjoying the comforts will also sell the shot. On the other hand, a record shot should really be about the room, factual and un-distracted.

If it is solely the room you intend to show then it is probably better not to include people.If you do include people then make sure it complements the purpose for the shot.

Interiors are satisfying to photograph

There may be lots of reasons to take pictures of rooms, but that makes it important that you think about what you are trying to portray. If you have a clear purpose for the shot then you can match the layout, furnishings, lighting etc to meet the purpose you have set. Think about layout, depth and finishings. Think about people. There is a lot to consider. However, interior shots can be very satisfying indeed. Practice makes perfect, so work on the points above.

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By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

Five easy tips for better photos in difficult weather and light

Its easy to make weather excuses, but….

We can actually find a way to shoot in almost any weather situation. Here are some tips to get the shot even though the weather conditions are not ideal for a photograph.

1. Rain…

Cameras hate water. If there is a sure fire way to ruin your equipment, get it wet. So we want to dodge the rain shots. Actually rain is fun. You don’t need to be shooting right in the rain. Most of the time there is cover you can use to work from for your shot. Shop fronts, cars, through open windows, under canopies… you can think of thousands of rain hides if you try. And, rain provides lots of great things to shoot too. Rain is a great cleanser. The pavements and side roads are dust-free, shiny, or with splashing drops and running water. Yet life goes on. Street photography becomes dynamic, frenetic and full of new behaviors. People are doing things they normally do not do. They run, they put up umbrellas, they crowd under cover… lots of great behaviors that often do not get photographed. Look to catch people in the puddles, jumping, dashing for cover. Look for colours and reflections. Look for droplets, wet surfaces, running water. Most of all try to catch the reactions of people as they try not to get wet. Rain is great fun. Don’t hide your equipment away. Get out and take some great shots. After the rain look for skyward glances, great reflections, splashes and people emerging from cover.

2. High noon…

A high and harsh sunlit situation is not good for any kind of photography. Normally we think of it as pretty awful for any kind of portrait shot. The direct light creates washed out, over-exposed areas of the shot. The faces look flat and colours lose the subtle tonality. You can still get a great shots though. Seek out some cool, even shade. Under the canopy of shops or malls is ideal, or maybe within the shade of a substantial tree. Look for anything that provides enough shade for you and your subject to get out of the direct sunlight. However, stay near to the main sunlight area. The direct sunlit area will act as your main light source. The shade will act as a diffuser. Now, make sure you do not shoot into the direct sunlight or deeper darkness of deep shade. Try to keep your shot on your subject and make sure any background you use is also in the same light-shade level of intensity. That way your contrasts and colours will all be within the same dynamic range of light – which your camera deal with. However, the main light source will be diffused – creating a lovely soft, bright light source. Remember, if you shoot out of the shade into the sun you will find the contrast range too high. You will get bright highlights and over-exposure which will draw the eye away from your subject. So keep the shots tight to the light level you are working within and your shots will be fine and bright. Don’t shoot in mixed or dappled light.

3. Insufficient shade?

Avoiding very hard light or direct sunlight makes sense but what if you cannot find enough shade for you and your subject to be in the same light. If you are trying to photograph a person the impact of this direct light is particularly hard on their face and unflattering. Unfortunately putting your subject into the shade can make the situation worse. The darkness in the shade contrasts strongly with the bright light outside where you are standing. So you get bright spots in your shot and harsh darker areas in the deeper shade – very distracting. To overcome this high contrast situation take your shot on the shadow line. Line up the person you want to shoot on the shadow edge so the bright light is softened. In this intermediate place your subject gets the golden glow from the brighter light but it is softened by the slight shadow.

To help your camera to cope try to shoot from the same half-in half-out of shadow position too. The contrasts will not overpower your sensor there. If you get it right you will split the light to make it just right. Carefully placed you will capture the lovely sky and background but not lose detail in the shadow-darkness under the shade. Be careful not to get dappled light from sun through the leaves, and make sure the shadow line does not cross your subject. Bright contrasts and sharp shadow lines on the subject are very unflattering. Instead shoot along the half shade into the brighter light utilising the foreground weaker light as your main source for the subject.

4. The sun flattens the landscape

Often, particularly on holiday or when out on a shoot, we cannot wait for the golden hour. We are in a place where there is a deadline to move on and you want to get the shot. Unfortunately the high, direct sunlight flattens everything, eliminating shadows and ironing out colour tones. The light is boring and harsh and the shadows minimal.

How do you get the landscape? Include more sky than usual. Often in these situation the most interesting lighting is for the sky. The clouds and far away places look good. So expose for the sky and reduce the amount of landscape you include. This means using the sky as the main bright source of light. Point your focus point to a cloud. If the auto-focus ‘hunts‘ and will not focus turn it off and focus manually. Make the sky your subject and concentrate on the distance and sky. This may mean some of your foreground will be slightly underexposed. However, it is easier to brighten the foreground or a near subject later in post-processing if you have exposed for the sky.

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5. Dreary, grey diffused sky light

Another bad light situation for the photographer is the dreary grey day. Uniform light from across the sky leaves little or no shadow detail anywhere. Everything looks flat and dead. The problem here is there is nothing in the landscape that provides relief for the greyness. The sky is difficult too – you cannot do foreground shots as the uniform lack of colour or shadow means everything is pale and uninteresting. The distance has lost its sky appeal too. Even exposing for the sky creates almost uniform grey.

Well, this is the time to get out the flash. Off-camera flash is best, although pop-up flash will also do the trick. Get close to the ground or a surface with great texture. Then, shoot along the surface with the flash. If the flash is off-camera set it off to one side so it exaggerates ground shadows. If you are working with pop-up flash then make sure you work with the shadow at its maximum. This may mean shooting with your camera upside down so the light is really close to the surface and the optical axis is across the surface lit by the flash. If you use a relatively wide aperture, these low-level flash shots will bring out shadow detail in the foreground and leave the distance in bokeh and out of focus.

Some places to find great surfaces for this type of shot are low grasses, sandy or gravelly surfaces, tarmac, along road lines, autumnal leafy forest floors, bare rock… well, you get the idea. Seek out any surface that provides texture for you to capture. Lots of small to medium undulations and detail is best. Large objects will block the foreground so reserve them for the middle distance.

Remember the five rules…

The key to difficult weather and light situations is…

  • Find the right vantage point to shelter/shoot from
  • Maximise the opportunities for spotting unusual behavior
  • Make the most of the weather opportunities (sky, puddles, splashes etc)
  • Keep the light where you are shooting within approximately the same dynamic range
  • Look for, or create, light situations that exploit texture detail

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

Entering competitions is easy… here’s how

Air Display Montage

• Air Display Montage •
Entered in a competition as three projected digital images today
Click image to view large
• Air Display Montage • By Netkonnexion on Flickr External link - opens new tab/page

Competition is fun and improves your photography.

The essence of improvement is getting feedback and learning from it. Photography is no different. Competition provides feedback and helps you streamline your technique. Improve for competition and you will improve for your viewers.

Is there a problem?

You would think so. I know lots of people who are really rather reluctant to enter competitions. The reasons for this reluctance tends to fall in to three categories:
I am waiting for the perfect picture to enter…
• Ever heard the saying, “Excellence is the enemy of good”? You can waste your whole life waiting for the right circumstance, picture, money, gift, break, whatever. In most cases excellence is only achieved by practice, application, focus and persistence. And, of course, lots of mistakes along the way. If you don’t start now you will never get to a position where you can consistently create excellence. To work toward something excellent in the long run work with the “good” now and test out your skills. If you work at it excellence will follow.

I’m worried someone may say something horrible about my work…
• No one likes to be criticised. Except that is when it is positive and a learning experience. In photography clubs the world over competitions happen all the time. Yes, they are competitive, but they are also learning experiences. Photographers go there to learn what they can do to match up to future competitions. Judges have no investment in crushing people. Judges try to enable more competitors to enjoy photography and improve their skills. When they talk about a picture they want to emphasise the good points and highlight the things that need to be considered in the light of experience. A good judge will make you feel great about successful aspects of your picture and help you learn about the less successful ones.

I worry my effort is shamefully bad and I will be a laughing stock…

• Children are cruel to each other. The playground is a hell of a place to learn tact and diplomacy. Yet, most of us do learn it. We are grown up now and this excuse does not hold water. Most of us have been through the university of hard knocks. Really this is just a throwback to childhood. There is nothing like just doing it… have a go! There is really nothing to be afraid about.

Who will I be up against?

• One of the great things about competitions is they are usually graded. If you are a beginner then get into the novice or starter class. If you have been doing competitions for years then go for it, enter into the advanced competition class. But exercise common sense. If you have never entered a competition, swallow your pride and enter the novice class. You need to know the way these things are played and the gentle approach will allow you to learn and do well. Get the lay of the land before your all out attack! joining a local photographic club is a good start.

Of course you may want to enter a national or international competition right out. Well, feel free. However, the stakes are higher and so is the field of entry. The “Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year”, now in its 49th year, usually has more than thirty thousand entries. It is a revered world-wide competition with big prizes. Of course there are far too many entrants to give feedback on them all. So my advice is to start small. Enter club or local competitions. You will be up against people who have similar talent levels. Even if your picture is not commented upon you can often find feedback on the winners photos that will help you see your own errors.

What is expected of me in a competition?

• Competitions are great at putting people on the same level. Everyone is treated the same. There is only one real expectation…
Enter your best picture that matches the brief for the competition

You would be surprised at how many people fall at that simple hurdle. Most beginners simply do not read the brief and provide a photograph to match it. If you want to win, you have to provide a photograph that the judges are looking for when they judge. Sounds simple. It does take some thinking about. The rules (example) and the guidance documentation (example) are essential reading. You should know them inside out. What you think about the rules is irrelevant. No mercy will be shown for people who do not fulfil them and the brief. The image will just be excluded. If you do everything the rules and the competition brief asks, then your picture will be reviewed.

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What will the judges be looking for?

The answer to this varies from competition to competition. Normally you can get a feel for it from the guidelines for the competition. However, as a general rule, the judging will cover the following sorts of criteria:
Fit to the brief
• Does the photo actually meet the competition requirements
Presentation: Overall Impression of the photograph…
• Editing, mounting (if mounted on something), printing (if a print)
Camera Work Technique: (photographic skill)
• Choice of viewpoint or angle taken to the subject
• Choice of lighting (should be appropriate for the subject)
• Accurate focusing
• Appropriate quality and choice of exposure
• Suitable depth of field (aperture)
• Appropriate use of shutter speed for the subject
• Highlights and shadows (ensuring detail is retained)
Technical Quality: (of prints or editing, finish etc)
• Absence of processing faults, dust spots, processing artefacts, image damage by sharpening etc.
• Appropriate tonal use and control of the range of tones
• Good image finishing
• Appropriate use of levels, curves and colour management (post processing)
Visual Awareness, Visualisation and Seeing:
• Composition, design and cropping of the images (aesthetic considerations)
• Appropriate simplification (minimising irrelevant complications)
• Distractions and intrusions should not divert the viewers eye
• Good use of light, mood, texture and colour
• Good use of masking and manipulation where appropriate (or where allowed) depending on the rules of the competition
Communication and meaning:
• Personal input, understanding of, and connection to the subject
• Appropriate communication of any message, mood, ideas, and information
• Complementary use of the photographic medium to suit the subject (mounting, projection, printing, texture of print substrate etc)
• Appropriate imagination and creativity as well as suitable timing for the shot

That is quite a list. It is a lot to take in. Some of the terms may not be familiar to you either. That is why you are advised to go through club channels to learn what is involved in these different processes.

What if I win?

• Congratulation are in order. However, there are usually some post competition issues to consider. For example often competitions put restrictions on what you can say to the press about the competition. You may also be required as a condition of entry to allow the competition organisers to be able to use your image in some way. Be sure that this use is compatible with your use of the image. Some commercial photographers have fallen foul of competition restrictions in the past. Again, the only guidelines you should follow are those of the competition. As to awards and prizes you will normally be told in the instructions for the competition what those are. They differ widely.

Finally…

I can only wish you luck. Competitions are great fun and I have learnt a huge amount from competing over the years at club and other levels. I think if you enter a competition you will learn too. It is all about improving your photography and having fun. If you join a club it will also be about doing it with your friends and with their help too.

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

Eight ways to bring out texture in your photographs

• Medieval Prison •  Bring out the texture in your shots

• Medieval Prison •
A dismal dungeon! Bring out the texture in your shots.
Click image to view large
• Medieval Prison • By Netkonnexion on Flickr External link - opens new tab/page

Texture is essential for a 3D effect.

If you want a realistic feel you need to work at it. Convincing texture lies in the fine detail – your picture must look like it feels. Here are eight things you can do to increase the texture from capture to printing…

What is texture?

Texture is the fine detail in your photograph. I am sure you would know what it feels like to run your finger over the surface of a brick. If a photograph of a brick convinces you that touching the photograph would feel like a brick, your depiction of texture has been successful. The term texture is a fine art concept which applies to photography [texture definition].

More after this…

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Eight ways to enhance texture
  1. Pick your subject to ensure it will show texture. Close ups are easiest as you can work large. If you are with a large subject like a person and want to show fine texture on the background you should ensure the background surface you pick is well defined. Look for the largest contrast in shades of colour and in light/dark. Look for shadow areas and bright areas. Make sure that the physical texture (roughness) is roughest where you will be taking the shot. These are the features of texture the camera will pick up.
  2. Hard light on your texture will give it a sharp, unyielding feel, a sandpaper type effect. Soft light will give it a rounded less harsh look, more like weathered stone surfaces. Arrange your light to emphasis the character of the texture you are photographing.
  3. When taking your photograph arrange the light coming at your texture from the side. A shallow angle of light creates light/shadow areas which define the texture. When these little contrasts can be seen they make the texture stand out. If light comes from where you are shooting from these shadows are not created and the texture will be flat (eg. pop-up flash or sun from behind you).
  4. Consider very slightly over-exposing your shot. This will give you room to exaggerate the contrast in the post processing.
  5. In the developing module of your processing (RAW only) use the contrast tool to maximise the contrast potential in your texture. If working in *.jpg enhance the contrast in the normal picture editing view.
  6. Consider making your picture a grey-scale shot in post processing. If possible do not do a direct colour to black & white conversion. Use colour control methods to enhance the contrasts in each colour. You will need a more advanced image editing application for this (PhotoShop, or Elements for example).
  7. Use the ‘burn’ in post processing to deepen the dark areas of the shot. Set it to emphasis shadow. Manually pick out the shadow/darker areas and give them a very slight darkening. Try working at about 10% (or less) ‘burn’ exposure. Similarly, use the ‘dodge’ tool to brighten the highlights. Set the tool to pick out highlights at about 8%-18% exposure.
  8. When printing use paper that has a texture appropriate to the texture you want to bring out. You will need to print a test print. Then hold the test texture up against several paper surfaces to compare the textures. Paper with softer, uneven texture will take the edge off textures in the print. Harder textures with more regular surface will tend to sharpen the depicted texture. However, the eye must be your final guide. There is great skill involved in picking the right paper texture for specific pictures when printing. So you might need to make several tests with different paper textures to get the most emphasis for your texture.

Enhancing the contrast between light and dark or between colours will emphasis texture, but the most effective impact will be what you achieve in the actual shot. Try to ensure you use the light to gain the best advantage from your texture as you do the shooting. It will look more realistic and you will have to spend less time at the computer.

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

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Get your settings right with all file types

File-formats and settings

The power of the file format you use…

Most photographers don’t think about settings and file formats when starting. First off, most people just want to take pictures. Down the road you need to think about what you are doing more carefully. You will need to get into RAW processing to overcome the shortcomings (but also, see my comment after this article)

File formats

When you think about settings and file formats it appears very technical. It’s not easy to work out what you need to know. Here are the basics. There are two in-camera file types for photographers…

  • RAW = a file type for capturing all the data from your camera, but which needs developing (post processing) after the file is downloaded. There are many manufacturer-specific versions of the RAW format.
  • *.jpg = a specific file type created in-camera from a RAW file. It is processed by the camera. The *.jpg format was originally designed only for transmitting and displaying files. It is extremely limited for post processing and easily degraded.

Both file types are useful for certain things. The RAW format is ultimately the most useful for photographers because it is so flexible. It allows you to develop the image you want from the picture you have taken. The *.jpg file on the other hand is processed for you, in a limited auto-processing system over which you have little control. It is confusing for beginners because *.jpg files create reasonably good images. But it is difficult to make them do what you intend. Beginners eventually find they cannot create the excellent images that RAW users produce. Nevertheless, starters use *.jpg because they don’t understand RAW and processing – they are stuck without help.

The processing is already done for *.jpg files by the time they are downloaded. Most beginners think they have something special when they get a great image straight out of the camera. Actually they are getting something processed according to someone else’s ideas. So it is not entirely their creation.

How do you break out of this situation?

The easiest way is to do a course or join a club or both. Then you can gain the experience and techniques you need to learn while having fun with others who share your interests. There are lots of courses and clubs around. More specifically you will have three goals. You need to learn how to…

  • Control your camera to get the picture you want.
  • Do post processing to produce great images.
  • See great scenes and compose them to create great images.
Along the way…

At some point every aspiring photographer is told, “why not try moving to RAW, that format gives you greater control over your processing”. This is true and a worthwhile pursuit.

What most beginners also hear along the way is something like this… “It is easier to shoot in RAW because you don’t need to worry about your settings so much”. “You can sort it out in post processing”.

This whole “sort it out later” attitude is a recipe for disaster. Here is my reasoning…
Most beginners:

  • Have an underdeveloped sense of colour.
  • Are not sensitive to light intensity or brightness variations.
  • Have an underdeveloped sense of the quality of light.

And crucially…

  • Cannot properly remember the colours shades, tones and brightness levels at a scene until they can start the post processing hours or days later.

The result is that during processing colours, brightnesses, tones and shades get over/under processed owing to no reference point. The resultant image is often a long way from reality. Incidentally, as your eye/mind system develops the “photographers eye” you begin to remember these details much more.

I urge you to cultivate the habit of fine control of your camera. Every shot, or at least every set of similar shots, should be set up individually. Be obsessive about it. Then, when you get your work into the computer, your post processing has a realistic starting point. It is easier, and more realistic, to process a picture that starts out very close to your intended image.

There is another reason to be obsessive and accurate about controlling settings from the start. Bad habits are really, really difficult to break. If you get into the habit of sloppy settings from the start you will almost certainly be a lazy photographer. I can assure you that will condemn you to many hours in front of the computer doing menial development tasks. It is much easier to get it right in-camera from the start. Then you can slightly tweak it later. Breaking a sloppy habit to get fine control of your camera later is a long, hard road.

Professional photographers are obsessive about getting the settings right. They know that the difference between an amateur and a professional is getting EXACTLY the image they want. And, they know they will not get that exact image by being sloppy. Precise, accurate and pre-set control is the name of the game if you want to create sharp, and realistic images.

So, forget about ‘rescuing images later’. Do your photography correctly from the start and do it using RAW files.

Addendum:
It is important to consider the tools you work with. If your camera does not offer the opportunity to save RAW files you have to work with what you have got. Nothing wrong with that. It is worth reading my comment after this article.

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

A quick look at negative space

Paraglider

The paraglider is defined by the space around about. The strong open space makes a statement about freedom and openness.

Negative space offers an opportunity.

The use of space in a photo is an interesting way to open up a picture and to emphasise the importance of the main subject. In this post we are going to examine use of negative space.

What is negative space

In simple terms negative space is everything in the picture that is not a subject. What lies around and between the subject(s) is negative space. In most images that surrounding space between the subject(s) is not a strong compositional element, forming part of the background. The background in an image forms part of the overall perspective of the shot as well as the in-fill. While they are important, the negative space they create does not normally carry a significant compositional impact like the subject.

Power

Negative space can be used as a major compositional element in a photograph, perhaps even the largest element. In the picture above the paraglider is defined by the surrounding open space. A sense of openness and freedom is conveyed by that negative space. The image is intended to show the elegance of the flight, the emptiness of the negative space and the balance between them. Simple images like this provide a way to draw the viewer into the picture through the use of the open space. The strength of the openness, which occupies most of the image, provides a power that not only defines the image but represents a significant part of the message in the shot.

Definition

One of the most obvious uses of negative space is create a defining part of the subjects space or positive space. In the image below the building and the tree represent a pair of opposing geometries.

The Gherkin building - City of London, UK

The Gherkin building – City of London, UK
The negative space (sky) between the tree and building creates a definition, highlighting the very different edges of each of the positive spaces.

The one is well defined in its geometric format of windows (the Gherkin building in London) and curves. On the other hand the tree represents a chaotic, irregular, almost disorganised entity. The negative space between them creates a definition of both and refreshes the eye when moving back and forth. The counterpoint is defined by the negative space.

Using negative space as the subject

It seems funny to use ‘nothing’ as a subject. Nevertheless, the absence of something is still meaningful. In the next photograph the subject is actually negative space – albeit of a relatively small size…

Arrow Slot - Bodium Castle

Arrow Slot – Bodium Castle
The existence of the slot is defined not by the brickwork, but by the intense blackness of the arrow slot.

As you can see the power in this image is in the deep black of the arrow slot in the wall, off-set nicely by the textures in the hand-cut stonework. It is that deep blackness that, in this case defines the slot.

As an additional point, the opposite is true too. The positive space can define the negative space in a picture. When you look at the picture of the vase you will see the main vase to start with. However, stare at the image long enough and the stem of the vase becomes two faces staring at each other closely. The positive space of the vase has acted to define the negative space around the outside of the vase where you can see the faces.

Rubins Vase - a study of the negative space created by the vase stem.

• Rubins Vase • Vs study of the negative space created by the vase stem.
Click image to view large
• Rubins Vase • By Wikipedia External link - opens new tab/page

Negative space can be used in powerful ways. In essence, it is a great way to draw the eye of your viewer into the picture.

Things in photography that are not true – photography lies

Photography lies – photos may not show ‘truth’

Sometimes photos pretend to be something that in reality they are not. There may be no lies involved, but the subject can be misrepresented. In fact, there are many ways that photos are set up to vary from reality.

Photos – proof in evidence, or photography lies?

‘Photographic evidence’ is not automatic proof. Photography lies come in many forms. Some photos can mislead without an edit. Pictures can convince viewers in lots of ways. For example, we all know we can take photos to make a short person look tall. And… well, just look at a few of these: Photographic illusions on Google images Photography lies on Google :: External link - opens new tab/page. Mistakes, edits and theft can all be used to spoil or lose photo-evidence. The art of illusion can also turn one thing into another in a photograph. Even digital forensics cannot detect a good illusion. Photography may be useful evidence, but it is not 100% reliable. in addition, interpretation of an image leaves us with open questions about what we see. Often we can see photography lies but our eyes deceive us. We simply do not notice them.

Photo fraud

We cannot pretend photo-fraud is a myth. Journalists are sometimes dismissed for simple photo edits. These dismissals have even been after slight changes. Remember, to remove or add something, a person or an object can really change the impact of an image. Actually, there are many examples of photography lies Examples of photography lies | External link - opens new tab/page in journalism. This is because there are situations when manipulation costs the trust of the viewer. As a rule journalists are honest. However, even top level journalists create photography lies and others make mistakes.

Fine line between lies and truths

In my view fashion magazines have often crossed that line using photography lies. This is often obvious with the body edits of celebs. photogs often remove the odd spot, wrinkle or blemish for aesthetic reasons. We may have taken a step further. However, most of us are not selling something. The extent to which misleading edits appear in the fashion and lifestyle industry is shocking. Look at these… Photoshop disasters on Google Images  Photography lies :: Photoshop disasters on Google Images ::External link - opens new tab/page. The Internet is replete with Photoshop disasters. These are just the ones that obviously mislead. How many photography lies that go un-spotted will probably never be known.

Obviously past the limit…

Some of the photos in magazines, adverts and on TV are criminal. In the UK the public is slowly becoming aware of this. Questions often surface about the ethics of advert manipulation. More important, the effects on vulnerable people need revealing. Should we make celebs thinner in photos? Should young, impressionable people see these things? Would there be less anorexia in the teen age group if such editing did not happen? These are not just ethical issues. They are questions about our society and culture too.

Actually, the camera does lie – routinely

Many starters in photography do not realise how much a camera distorts reality. This is not manipulation – it is physics. The lens which most closely matches the human eye is the 50mm prime. However, it is still likely to make an image that varies from reality. We see barrel distortions, chromatic aberrations, and random softness or distortion at the edge of the shot.

Other lenses, most notably the fish-eye lens, are noted for distortion. Such lenses are sort-after. Remember, all lenses have their special character. So do all digital image sensors. The contrast in a scene is reduced compared to the human eye too. In general, cameras don’t see exactly as we do. All sorts of aspects of an image differ from reality.

Lancaster Bomber fish-eye shot

• Lancaster Bomber fish-eye shot •

The fish-eye lens is noted for its ability to distort a scene.

Click image to view large.
• Lancaster Bomber fish-eye shot • By Netkonnexion on Flickr External link - opens new tab/page

Cheating? Me?

I am a member of two camera clubs. I have seen many new members leaving when they realise people have ‘cheated’ in post production. Sky’s blued, contrasts deepened; and horrors, things cloned out. Or worse, things pasted in. Unspeakable!!!

Getting on a high horse about photography lies like these are really the tantrums of a diva. People are often adamant that they did no processing and they never would. Yet, they used *.jpg images. These are notorious for the messing around done by the on-board processors in-camera. These edits are done routinely on auto-settings. This is because most entry-level photogs and snappers do not normally do their own digital developing.

Most images have been edited… in some way

There are many file changes made before you see the image. Most *.jpg files have had auto processing. Sky is blue-enhanced. Images are brightened by about 50 points. *.jpg’s artificially enhance contrast and remove distortions of various kinds. Digital noise is pretty routinely removed too. Certain colour enhancements and changes are also not unusual. There is no standard for these. The makers work out what they think will look best. When they get credible results, they produce a new sensor/camera combination. If that is what you want to go with – great. But, don’t try and kid anyone you have an unprocessed picture. Straight out of camera (SOOC) it may be, unprocessed it is not. Are these things photography lies?

As they are not intended to mislead – in-camera changes are not photography lies. The photog and camera maker both try to get close to what the eye can see. However, these ‘corrections’ are really an attempt to see the camera make a more real picture. If you use a RAW format image file in your capture then you will have to make similar changes. Next you will produce your *.jpg file. The benefit of RAW is you can gain more control over the outcome. You can do what the manufacturer cannot. You can make the image how you saw it in your minds eye.

What is the nature of a photo?

In the early 1980’s I knew a man who worked in a big London advertising agency. As an editing trainee in photography he saw many interesting processes. One, widely used today in Photoshop, was under development for a big UK airline. Money in the hundreds of thousands of pounds was spent to develop a process to soft-edge for aeroplanes. This allowed the image to be placed in almost any sky. They were using chemical films then. The process would allow them to easily place aircraft into images to create travel articles.

Is this misleading? We all know aircraft fly. What does it matter the sort of sky we see them in? Well, the right sort of aircraft and sky can convince people they are going to exotic or sunny places. It’s a sales point. This lifestyle message comes over in much of our literature. It could be seen as manipulating how a place is viewed. Messages like this impact on buying decisions.

Editing – does it change the nature of the photograph?

photog routinely and robustly defend their right to edit images. This sometimes results in an image that is nothing like the original capture. Editing, even ‘processing’ is in itself an artistic pursuit. Actually, this leads us to consider the very nature of a photographic image. Clearly it is not true Record of reality. Neither is a photograph a definitive reflection of reality. Every photograph is a personal interpretation of a scene. Every one is to some extent changed by the camera equipment, the processing, and the settings. Even the way the camera was held or mounted has an impact.

Edits are not generally there to mislead…

In general terms edits are not about creation of photography lies. There are elements of the capture and camera mechanism that affects the result. There are inputs that are interpretation and some that are pure art.

Photography is an art and a science. We should recognise that every image, to a lesser or greater extent, changes the scene depicted. What we appreciate about an image should not be about the process. It should be about the result. Is it a great image? Does it convey the right message or impression?

Only historians of photography will be interested in the photo-production processes in the future. Everyone else will consider the image for its merit.

So, are there really photography lies?

Yes, pure and simple.

There are photo-white lies – images deliberately constructed to convey particular meaning or a message. They may be real lies. However, they may not be setting out to mislead in a malicious way. They are about artistic interpretation and technique. Possibly, they will also be about the state of camera and lens technology.

Hard deceptions are where a photograph conveys a deliberate falsehood. Some of the ‘Black-hat lies’ are easy to spot. Some deliberate manipulations are done with intent to mislead. These misleading images intend to fool people about their lifestyle choices are definite lies. They exist and they are damaging and sometimes criminal. Many body edits in fashion magazines fall into this category, for example.

Judging is not the issue

I am not judging anyone here. There are cases where the public have been misled. There are borderline issues and blatant criminality. On the other hand we should concede an important point. Artists through the ages have sought to use contemporary tools to express themselves. The use of post-processing and editing apps is no different. It’s a reality we are not going to change. I think we should live with it and enjoy it.

What we must not do is get purist about ‘straight-out-of-camera’ photos. They are an approximation of the reality of the scene on the day. SOOC images are not something virginal and untouched. Be proud, move on.

Equally, we must not attempt to mislead people. We must hold up our hands and be realistic. Changes, processing, edits and deliberate distortions are there. They always have been. We just need to acknowledge that fact, rejoice in it and be honest.

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.