Fixing a bad photograph

Objective: Using a combination of software and plugins, we will address common issues when we have to edit a really bad photograph.

Skills taught: Cropping, color cast, sharping, cloning, noise reduction and artistic interpretation.

Video Type Available : Novice to Advance-Speed Clinic and Beginner- In-depth (coming soon)

It all starts in the camera

While in Boston, a group of us went on a photo shoot of  the city. I saw a father and daughter standing on the subway holding hands. I quickly took a shot. Sounds simple?  Let’s explore the thought process and technical issues I had to face in a matter of seconds.

I was dealing with poor lighting, a moving platform, lots of people in the way and TIME. I calmly observed the situation and set the camera to ISO 1250, F/2.8  at 1/60 of a second using my 80-200 lens. Well if I were Joe McNally that’s what I would have done. Instead, BEFORE I entered the subway, Sandy Foster suggest I try a great feature found on most Nikon cameras, auto ISO. Now before you judge me, let me finish. On Pro and Pro/Consumer Nikon cameras you are able to dial in when to change the ISO. In my example, I programed the ISO to start at 200. If the shutter falls below 1/60 of a second, then the ISO changes but won’t go any higher than 1600. I kept the camera in Aperture Priority and steady myself against a pole. This feature is amazing. It let’s the photographer focus on composition while still allowing creativity by changing the aperture. A plus or minus EV (exposure value) can also be used.

You are probably wondering why not just keep the camera in the AUTO mode. Although you can, you are now letting the camera make ALL your creative choices for you. As a photographer, it’s always best if we can decide when to make a change to our settings. By using the method I just described, we would have come up with those setting IF we had an abundance of TIME.

This brings me to our tutorial, how to fix a really bad photograph. It’s always best to get the shot right in the camera. Under the difficult situation I was faced with, this was the best I could do. With a few tweeks in Photoshop, Lightroom and the help from a few plugins I was able to save this photograph.

Before the digital age, photographers were making incredible images. Don’t get caught up in the tools I’m using; Lightrrom, Photoshop, ect.., Try to focus on the concepts and work flow I’m demonstrating. Understanding these  concepts will enable us to work faster.

This tutorial will be available as a video and written instructions Monday, April 26, 2010.

Silver Efex Pro: a different approach

I attended Vincent Versace’s class on “Practical B&W Conversion for the Common User” at Photoshop World 2009 Vegas. I’ve said it a thousand times, Versace is a GENIUS!  I’ve been using Silver Efex Pro, a Photoshop plug-in from NIK Software, for years. It’s main use was to give me that perfect black and white. At the seminar, Versace showed us a totally different use for it, to enhance COLOR. Yes, a black and white plug-in for color. The simple trick; after converting your image using Silver Efex change the layer blend mode to Luminosity. If you don’t have Silver Efex Pro, you can still get better color by using Adobe’s built in Black and White adjustment layer. Although you don’t have as many creative options, it does a pretty good job. This simple tip casually said by a modern day Art Master has given me another tool in my creative arsenal.

I spent less than 5 minutes on this sample. I’ve included the original, (right out of the camera no adjustments), cropped and the Silver Efex versus Adobe’s Black and White adjustment layer.

Valley of Fire

A few of us headed out to the Valley of Fire to do a sunset shoot. We miscalculated the time and only had about 35 minutes to shoot. I have my travel Netbook with only Lightroom installed. The images you see are untouched except for a few adjustments in color and clarity in Lightroom.

Camera Gear

• Tripod
• Nikon D300
• Nikon Lens 17 – 55  2.8
• Remote trigger
• Circular polarizing filter

How I got the shots:

I shot at a focal length of 17 mm on aperture priority with an F/stop ranging  from F/11 to F/22.  I kept a low angle using the remote trigger.

What would I do different:

I knelt on cactus needles AGAIN, so either long pants or knee pads. The rock in the Valley if very sharp. I also would have made sure I cleaned my lens and sensor. Ohh and of course arrived a little earlier!

Neon Photo Contest: PSW Vegas 2009

SPONSORED BY PEACHPIT

Peachpit has been publishing top-notch books on the latest in graphic design, desktop publishing, multimedia, Web design and development, digital video, and general computing since 1986. They are sponsoring a special contest for Photoshop World attendees.

The bright lights of…Bakersfield, California are calling your name! Or perhaps it’s Tempe, Arizona. Or Butte, Montana. It’s time to capture the Neon in Your Neighborhood! Quick! Before it’s replaced with energy efficient bulbs. Grab your camera and take a few shots of your favorite local neon signs or art and submit one to flickr.

Your friendly photog authors, David DuChemin and Chris Orwig will pick 20 of their favorites to win a Phantastic Photowalk at the Neon Museum Boneyard in Las Vegas and lead them on a photo adventure that will include many more prizes and a few other great authors to help: Matt Kloskowski, Russell Brown, Frederick Van Johnson, Jeff Revell, Rick McCleary and more!

My talented neighbor, Scott Larson, and I went around Melbourne Florida taking photos of neon signs. Like most cities, neon signs are hard to find. Scott went out the night before scouting locations for our shoot. Here are a few tips from the shoot.

1. Scout ahead for locations
2. Wear a white shirt: I was heading out the door and I realized I was wearing all black. Not a good idea at nighttime. If you have a reflective running shirt that would be a better choice.
3. If people are working where you are shooting, go inside and tell them what you are doing.
4. Tripod, Tripod and….Tripod: The best way to get night shots is by using a tripod.
5. Use a remote trigger for the camera: This will lowers the chance of camera shake.
6. Experiment with a circular polarized filter and your EV mode (exposure value)
7. Shoot in Aperture priority mode using a high F-stop. (Most of our shots were F/11 to F/22)
8. Experiment with moving the camera around or zooming in or out after you press the shutter release. This will give you some interesting effects.
9. Shoot high, shoot low, take shots from all angles.: My tripod enables me to shoot at ground level. I also raised it as high as it could go and shot down.
10. Talk with you partner and give each other advice!

Camera gear: Nikon D300, Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 D lens, Nikon ED 17-55mm f/2.8G IF DX and a circular polarizing filter. Larson had the Moose Peterson’s warm circular polarizing filter.

I had to take this shot for the staff at NAPP. They seem to love Krispy Kreme. We shot at this location for a short time. We really weren’t feeling the creativity. There was a lot of street lights around and cars were coming in and out. I went inside to let the manager know what we were doing. I was tempted to grab a nice hot doughnut but the health freak Larson made a comment that he couldn’t believe the amount of people going in for junk at this time of the night! Wish I brought Reinert, he would have gone in on a few doughnuts!

To get the shot of the logo’s reflection in the window of the truck, I had to raise my tripod as high as it would go. Once I did, I couldn’t see what  I was shooting. I realized the Nikon D300 has live view. I never used it before and I heard it’s a battery killer. After Larson showed me where it was, I fell in love with it. I should add, Nikon is loaning me the D300. I normally shoot with the D200 and D2h. The point I’m making is you should know your equipment before you go out and shoot. I didn’t have the manual with me and it was too dark to see the dials. I was lucky Larson has the D300!

We went onto Checkers! I forgot to tell the manager what we were doing and they came out to inspect us. (Must have been the tripods.) I explained what we were doing and I apologized for not asking permission. She was more than happy to let us shoot. At first we shot in the drive thru and we realized that may not be the best place with the cars coming in from behind us. We moved all around the building and found the front to be the best. My tripod enabled me to lay flat on the ground.

After several traditional shots, I looked over at Larson and saw he had a blurry photo. He said he moved the tripod during the exposure. That gave me an idea. We started to shake the camera on purpose to get a few crazy shots. Back on the tripod, I experimented with long exposures using F/16 and -2 EV (exposure value). This gave me about a 10 sec exposure. After pressing the shutter release, I slowly zoomed my 17-55 in and out. I found that starting at a focal length of 55 and then zooming out to a focal length of 17 showed the logo of Checkers better. Plus it made the words “Order” and “Pick up” jump out of the frame.

I used Lightroom to boost the colors and added a -74 Post Crop Vignette. My goal was to do everything in the camera. I must admit, I did take a safe shot at first; meaning I didn’t move the lens. This gave me a fall back plan if the wild stuff didn’t work. I could have used Photoshop to get similar results, but it is always best to get it right in the camera.

Photoshoot with my favorite cousin

My cousin Robbie (that is Mr. V to the rest of the world. I am familia, plus I am his favorite cousin so he is Robbie to me.) offered to take me on a photo shoot.

Sunday we started off. All is well with the world. We are headed North on the thruway. The sun is shining. It is a beautiful day. But wait… Headed North, isn’t Delray South? Oops! Just a slight miscalculation. A quick U turn and we are on our way. Robbie’s artistic eye is seeing all these wonderful things to photograph. However I don’t think it would be a good idea to slam on the breaks while driving down the thruway, just to take a picture of an old building.

I was so excited to be going on this shoot. My photographic experience is to put my camera on auto, point, and shoot. Just as we pulled into the Japanese gardens it started to pour. My spirits sank. I thought we would have to turn around and just go home. Rob never hesitated. He just muttered a note about bringing rain gear next time.

First thing I learned was how to stand properly. Putting my left foot forward and holding my camera properly greatly reduced camera shake. Then I had a lesson on how to shoot in the aperture mode. Rob’s words. “The higher the f stop the more of the story you will see.” The lower f stop will blur your background . I also learned it is important to take a few pictures. Then take a break and review your pictures. Looking at mine revealed that I had strange white spots on my pictures. The cause was rain drops on my lens. Another lesson learned Always make sure you lens is clean. I also learned how to use the ev button. This allowed me to control the amount of light in my picture. Also it is very important to make sure that your camera is zeroed out. Having the wrong settings will greatly affect the color in the picture.

The last lesson that I learned was to arrive early. Then you have the time to take all the pictures that you want. The guards really don’t enjoy taking you by the collar and throwing you out.

Thank you Rob for a wonderful day. I learned so much!

Lighting in Stages

In this video tutorial you will learn how to light a subject using multiple lights and what each of those lights do for the overall lighting scheme. Read more

Photoshop World Boston 2009

Photoshop World is hosted by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals; better known as NAPP. This unbelievable conference is held twice a year. Once on the East Coast and once on the West Coast. The event usually takes place in March and September.I’ve had a great opportunity to attend this event twice a year since it started in 2001.

People ask me if I still attend the classes. The answer: YES, as many as I can! I love hearing not just what they are teaching, but how they teach it.

My advice, take a partner with you. Split the classes up and then meet back and review what each of you has learned. PSW makes it easy by giving all the classes in a  thick telephone book. Leave the book in the hotel room and just take a note pad and class evaluation forms (found in the book) with you. Each and every evaluation form is read by a NAPP staff member. Our feed back is discussed and NAPP takes the advice very serious.

People ask;  “What classes does Vanelli take?” Here is my itinerary.

Tuesday, March 24
12:00p – 09:00p NAPP Photo Safari

Wednesday, March 25
09:00a-10:15a Opening Keynote
01:00p-06:00p Expo Open
10:45a-11:45a Lightroom Instant Enhancing & Effects With Presets
with Jack Davis

12:00p-01:00p Mastering the New Adjustments & Masks Panels
with Ben Willmore

06:15p-07:15p Prepare to Be Amazed
with Vincent Versace

Thursday, March 26
01:00p-05:00p Expo Open

08:15a-09:15a Lightroom for Wedding Photographers
with David Ziser

09:30a-10:30a Nice Glass NEW!
with Moose Peterson

10:45a-11:45a Photoshop for Designers NEW!
with Corey Barker

12:00p-01:00p Lighting Concepts
with Jack Reznicki

04:45p-05:45p InDesign CS4: Beyond the Basics NEW!
with Terry White

06:30p-08:30p Dinner with Scott

10:00p-12:00a Midnight Madness hosted by Scott Kelby
Friday, March 27
09:00a-01:00p Expo Open

11:00a-12:00p Now You See It – Now You Don’t NEW!
with Martin Evening & Jeff Schewe

01:00p-02:00p The Newest on HDR NEW!
with Ben Willmore

02:15p-03:15p Mastering Curves NEW!
with Ben Willmore

In between these classes I meet up with old friends and I try to meet as many new friends as possible. If you are not attending PSW Boston, make sure you attend Photoshop World on the West Coast in Seo

Making a Good Exposure

Making a good exposure in the camera is the all important first step in documenting your research. Whether you use film or digital it is crucial to have a good starting image to work with. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard something like this from an excited researcher: “..the experiment that we did last summer turned out to be really important and we want to publish a plate of images….we took pictures with the labs digital camera and they’re pretty dark and sorta fuzzy but can you fix them up and make one ready for a possible cover shot….it’ll take too long to redo the experiment just for photography so this is all we’ve got to work with…”. After much hemming and hawing and the old “_rap in, _rap out” speech, I do what I can but usually the results are not good and almost never cover quality. To prevent this situation from occurring again, the following sections will discuss the makings of a good quality exposure.
Read more

Glossary of Photographic Terms

There are many different terms used in the photography industry to describe equipment, camera settings, lighting, and so on. If you’ve ever been lost in a conversation on photography due to not knowing the terminology being used, this post is for you! Read more