You’re lucky! I nearly went with SPRING just to be ironic (It’s Winter in 29 days here in Melbourne) but no no, this week(s) we take the L – A photo of an L, a photo with a main theme that says L or starts with L or sounds like sheer L… see what I did there?
L is for…. Landscape and Light and ..whatever else you can come up with! Most creative will be featured on our social media in two weeks!
Make sure you include the hashtags #dPSWeeklyChallenge and #dPSTheLetterL in your post, here in the comments or over on social media. You can tag us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!
Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favourite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.
Share in the dPS Facebook Group
You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.
This article was updated in April 2024 with contributions from Simon Bond and Jaymes Dempsey.
If you want to capture breathtaking photos that go beyond what the human eye can see, then it’s tough to go wrong with a fisheye lens.
Fisheye photos don’t exactly look natural, but that’s not the point; with a fisheye lens, you can create mind-bending, expansive images full of eye-catching effects.
In this article, I share everything you need to know about fisheye photography. First, I give a basic definition of fisheye lenses, and I discuss when this type of lens works best. Then – in case you’re looking to get started with fisheye photography but don’t have the right gear – I offer recommendations for the best fisheye lenses available today.
Finally, I end with a few of my favorite tips, tricks, and techniques for beautiful fisheye portraits, landscapes, and more. (I also share plenty of fisheye examples along the way, so you know exactly what a fisheye lens can do.)
Are you ready to become a fisheye photo master? Let’s dive right in, starting with:
What is a fisheye lens?
A fisheye lens is an ultra-wide lens with a near 180-degree field of view. The glass in a fisheye lens curves heavily outward; as a result, it captures far more of the scene than even an ultra-wide-angle lens.
When capturing this huge field of view, a fisheye lens produces extensive distortion. As a result, fisheye images are noticeably curved around the edges:
When you use a fisheye lens, you can expect heavy distortion. Notice how intensely the edges of the frame are curved; that’s thanks to fisheye lens optics! But distortion isn’t always a bad thing, and in this case, it gives the composition a stronger sense of movement, as the walls swirl around the person down below.
Generally speaking, distortion is problematic – but fisheye photographers work to embrace the distortive effect. Indeed, fisheye photography is all about capturing unique perspectives and compositions. You shouldn’t use a fisheye lens if you’re obsessed with creating natural-looking photos. Instead, you should use a fisheye lens to create artistic, eye-catching images!
Fisheye lenses, unlike most standard lenses, feature a bulbous front element. For this reason, you cannot use a regular lens cap on a fisheye lens, and you cannot use standard filters, either. These accessories are designed for non-fisheye lenses with relatively flat front elements, and they simply won’t fit over a fisheye model.
Note that you can get either a prime or a zoom fisheye lens. The majority of fisheyes are prime lenses, and they typically offer an f/2.8 maximum aperture and a focal length of 8mm or 15mm. Manufacturers do sell a few zoom fisheye lenses, which feature smaller (f/4) maximum apertures but – thanks to the zoom range – deliver greater flexibility.
Circular vs diagonal fisheye lenses
Broadly speaking, fisheye lenses fall into two categories: circular and diagonal.
Circular fisheye lenses do not cover the entire camera sensor. Instead, they cover a portion of the sensor to produce a circular image, which results in a black frame around each file, like this:
Diagonal fisheye lenses, on the other hand, are designed to cover the entire camera sensor. The edges of an image captured with a diagonal fisheye lens will be heavily distorted, but the frame will include detail throughout, like this:
Both types of fisheye lenses can create arresting images, and neither is better than the other. It all depends on the kind of photography you enjoy! Personally, I like using a diagonal fisheye lens, but the choice is really up to you.
When should you use a fisheye lens?
Fisheye lenses are a great way to capture stunning creative effects. The intense distortion produces eye-catching, even disorienting, compositions, and you can use fisheye lenses for all sorts of unique shots.
Photographers rely on these lenses to produce fresh, original images of dozens of subjects, and here are just a few of the many popular choices:
Architectural interiors
Sweeping landscapes
Street scenes
City skylines
Remember, however, that fisheye shots are heavily distorted and therefore unrealistic – and sometimes shocking – in their rendering of everyday subject matter. Therefore, fisheye lenses are not ideal if your goal is to capture accurate documentary photos, flattering portraits, meditative still-life shots, or naturalistic landscapes.
So before pulling out that fisheye lens, ask yourself:
Do I want a creative, unusual, unnatural image? Or do I want a more conventional, yet also more accurate, rendering of my subject?
The choice is yours!
The best fisheye lenses you can buy today
Most major camera manufacturers don’t produce many (or any) fisheye lenses. Fortunately, however, third-party lens makers do offer all sorts of fisheye lenses; not only are these products compatible with a variety of different camera mounts, but they’re cheap, too!
If you’re in the market for a fisheye lens, here are a few of the models I recommend.
For Canon DSLR shooters – or Canon mirrorless users who own an EF to RF-mount adapter – the EF 8-15mm f/4L USM is an outstanding pick. It offers great optics, and you get both a circular fisheye effect and a diagonal fisheye effect, depending on the focal length. But be warned: It’s extremely pricey! If you’re looking for a budget fisheye lens for Canon DSLRs, the Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 is a solid alternative, though it’ll only produce a diagonal fisheye effect on APS-C cameras (on full-frame Canon cameras, you’ll get a circular fisheye effect instead).
For Nikon DSLR shooters, the 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED is a solid choice: it’s sharp, well-built, and it even offers close-focusing capabilities. Like Canon’s 8-15mm lens, Nikon’s fisheye model can create circular and diagonal fisheye effects, so if you’re not sure which you prefer, you can have fun playing with both! And while the Nikon 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED is more reasonably priced than its Canon counterpart, a budget option is the Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 I recommended above, which is also available for Nikon F-mount cameras.
For Four-Thirds photographers, the Olympus M.Zuiko 8mm f/1.8 is a fantastic buy. Not only does it produce beautiful diagonal fisheye images, but the f/1.8 maximum aperture lets you shoot handheld in low-light conditions and still come away with sharp, well-exposed images.
Unfortunately, Sony doesn’t currently manufacture any fisheye lenses for its mirrorless lineup. However, this Rokinon 8mm f/3.5mm does work on Sony E-mount cameras (though for a diagonal fisheye effect, you’ll need to use it with an APS-C model).
5 fisheye photography tips for beautiful results
Now that you’re familiar with the fisheye photography basics, let’s take a closer look at how you can create amazing fisheye photos.
1. Create distortion on the horizon line
If you’re after creative landscape photos and you don’t mind heavily emphasizing the fisheye effect, then start by including a horizon line in your image…
…and position it so as to create a heavy curve across the image.
The result is very cool, and it’ll certainly cause the viewer to do a double-take:
In fact, by adjusting the position of your fisheye lens, you can make the horizon curve downward (as in the example above) or upward.
To make the horizon line bend downward, simply aim the lens toward the ground (i.e., the lens should be below parallel to the ground). Note that a large portion of the photo will feature the foreground, so make sure you include plenty of close-up interest!
And to make the horizon line bend upward, aim the camera toward the sky. Try to create this upward effect when the sky features dramatic clouds, such as at sunrise or sunset; that way, the heavily featured sky will pull its weight.
2. Take photos of architecture
Yes, it’s a simple fisheye photography tip, but it’s important to emphasize:
The fisheye lens is an absolute gift for architectural photographers.
The distortion can be used for amazing creative effects, whether you’re shooting outdoors (and capturing beautiful building facades) or you’re shooting indoors (and capturing museum interiors, images of tight spaces, or even photos of your own living room). I love to use the fisheye distortion to frame my subject:
And you can often even incorporate elements from behind the lens; the focal length really is that wide!
Because fisheye lenses distort architecture so radically, as soon as you find an interesting architectural subject, I recommend you mount the lens on your camera, then simply spend some time walking around and looking through the viewfinder. Over time, you’ll start to understand the fisheye perspective – and you’ll also have a ton of fun along the way!
3. Use intentional camera movement
Intentional camera movement (ICM) is a creative technique that involves moving the camera during the course of an exposure to create an impressionistic blur:
More specifically, you set your camera to Manual mode, dial in a long shutter speed (often around 1/15s and beyond), then – as you fire the shutter – move the camera from left to right, up and down, in circles, and so on.
Now, intentional camera movement works with all types of lenses, and there are plenty of non-fisheye photographers who love the technique.
But if you combine ICM with a fisheye lens, you can capture incredibly novel effects. For instance, you can create a cool radial blur effect; here, you simply rotate the camera around an imaginary central point while shooting. As you can imagine, fisheye distortion actually intensifies the result. (In fact, the radial blur technique is how I captured the image displayed above!)
Just put your camera on a tripod, use a long shutter speed, and – after triggering the shutter – rotate the camera in a circle, stopping every so often to create areas of sharpness in your image. For the best results, choose a location with plenty of lights and shoot at night.
4. Don’t forget to do fisheye portrait photography
Fisheye photographers tend to neglect portrait subjects, but in my view, that’s a major mistake.
Sure, fisheye distortion isn’t always the most flattering, but the effects are plenty eye-catching (and by carefully positioning your portrait subject in the frame, you can avoid distorting the model).
For disorienting shots, try getting up close to your model, then ask them to point a finger, a prop, or even their eye toward the camera.
Alternatively, if you want to keep your model looking normal, position them in the center of the frame, but use the fisheye effect to distort interesting architecture all around the scene edges. Be sure to back up slightly so that the model is smaller in the frame.
When done correctly, this can create an interesting framing effect around the subject:
5. Use a fisheye for a (standard) ultra-wide perspective
Throughout this article, I’ve emphasized the creative potential of fisheye lenses.
But did you know that you can actually use fisheye lenses…normally? In other words, by carefully angling your fisheye lens, the resulting images will feature an ultra-wide perspective but very little distortion:
Of course, you can do this with an ultra-wide lens, but purchasing a second lens can be expensive. Plus, even the widest lenses don’t quite reach fisheye focal lengths.
Here’s how it works:
Aim your lens at the horizon line. And keep the angle completely flat (so the lens is perfectly parallel to the ground).
You will need to avoid objects on the edge of the frame because they’ll still distort – though if you do include a few edge objects, you can always correct the distortion in post-processing.
In my experience, this type of “standard” fisheye photo is great for locations with a minimalist feel, like coastlines and deserts. That said, you can always use it to capture interesting architecture, skylines, and so much more.
Bonus: Create the fisheye effect with a lensball
Fisheye lenses can be expensive, but if you like the idea of fisheye photography and can’t justify the price, you do have another option:
Simply purchase a glass ball, then – when you find a nice subject – hold the ball in front of your camera. The lensball will replicate a fisheye lens, and you’ll get a distorted, circular result:
Of course, the effect isn’t exactly the same, and you won’t get an image that’s sharp throughout. But you can have lots of fun experimenting with the lensball effect, and you can certainly capture some stunning images!
Fisheye photography: final words
Now that you’ve finished this article, you’re ready to do some stunning fisheye photography!
So grab a fisheye lens (or a lensball) and get shooting.
Now over to you:
What do you plan to photograph first with your fisheye lens? Which of these tips will you incorporate into your own workflow? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
A good monitor is one of the most important components of an editing workflow, but which monitor is best for photographers?
With so many options to choose from, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed at the prospect of choosing the perfect photo-editing monitor; however, some models do stand out from the rest and should be at the top of your list. There are also some key features to look for on any monitor you plan to purchase, as well as some qualities to ignore or avoid altogether. Regardless of your skill level, workflow needs, and budget, you have plenty of great options at your disposal – and this guide will help you find the right one for you!
When editing images, you need a monitor that can keep up with the brilliant colors, bright whites, dark shadows, and fine details in your photos.
How to choose the right monitor for editing photos
While some monitors are designed to suit a variety of use cases – such as gaming, word processing, graphic design, and 3D modeling – these are a bit like all-in-one printers/scanners/copiers. They’re average at a lot of things, but they don’t stand out in any particular way. In other words, they’re not ideally suited to any single given task.
Monitors designed for a specific purpose work much better when used for that purpose, and photography is no exception. Anyone considering a monitor for photo editing should take the following features into account:
Physical size: The saying bigger is better doesn’t necessarily apply to monitors designed for photo editing. You don’t want a monitor that’s too small, but you also don’t want to edit photos on a gigantic screen that takes up your entire wall.
Pixel density: This refers to the size of the individual dots, or pixels, that the monitor can display. Mobile phones have very high pixel densities; as a result, text, graphics, and icons appear so smooth that you can’t even see the individual pixels. While high pixel densities are increasingly common in monitors, you can still find some inexpensive options with low pixel densities. These make your photos, and everything else on screen, look blurry and slightly out of focus, so you should be sure to avoid such models when making your choice.
Photo editors need monitors that can keep up with the demands of modern digital photography. The best editing monitors show intricate details and display tack-sharp images.
Color gamut: This refers to the range of colors that a monitor can display. Some less expensive monitors are simply not capable of displaying a broad range of colors, and while they might be fine for documents, email, and browsing the internet, they are not ideal for photo editing. When choosing a monitor for photo editing, look for one with a high color gamut. High sRGB values such as 99% are great, but if you can get a monitor that has a DCI-P3 color gamut, you will likely find it to be much better suited for photo editing.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at the best monitors for photo editing that you can buy today:
1. The best monitor for professional photographers: Apple Pro Display XDR
Working professionals who demand the highest performance and whose livelihoods depend on the images they create with their cameras need look no further than the Apple Pro Display XDR. It has nearly every feature a professional could ask for – and, as you might expect, it has a high price tag to match. It’s designed specifically for photo and video editing, and it boasts an ultra-high pixel density of 218 PPI and an extremely wide viewing angle so you can see images clearly, even when looking from the side.
At 32 inches, the Apple Pro Display XDR is not only one of the best displays for professional photo editing but also one of the biggest. It has an incredibly wide color gamut, which means it’s capable of displaying a massive amount of colors so professionals can see all the subtle details in their high-megapixel images. It’s even offered with a special coating designed to minimize glare, which is very useful in bright environments or offices with overhead lighting.
The biggest drawback of the Apple Pro Display is the cost: Its $5000 price tag doesn’t include the anti-glare texture option or even a monitor stand. For professionals, the price might not matter, but for everyday shooters, this monitor is simply overkill.
Pros:
Anti-glare option makes a big difference in bright environments
Extraordinary color reproduction
Tru-Tone feature automatically adjusts colors for any viewing environment
Cons:
Very high price tag
Does not ship with a stand
Overkill for all but the most demanding professional photographers
2. The best monitor for amateur photographers: Dell UltraSharp U2724D
Dell might not be the first name that comes to mind in terms of monitors since the company tends to cater more to business and enterprise clients with excellent laptops and reliable desktops. However, Dell’s monitors are highly regarded among the photography community – and with good reason. The UltraSharp U2724D has many features that amateur photographers will appreciate, and the price tag won’t break the bank. It does a great job at color reproduction, has an LCD panel designed to give you deep blacks and bright whites, and is big enough to provide plenty of space without taking up an entire desk.
While the 98% P3 color gamut on the Dell UltraSharp U2724D doesn’t match the highest-end monitors available, it’ll work just fine for amateurs who want a good monitor for editing but don’t want to spend too much money. The monitor doesn’t have a webcam but does have a variety of useful expansion ports, and the refresh rate of 120 Hz makes it easy on the eyes even over long periods of editing. (High refresh rates are typically more important with gaming and other fast-moving use cases, but it never hurts to have when editing images!) Amateur photographers will find a lot to like here and will be well-served with the UltraSharp U2724D for many years to come.
Pros:
Includes a wide color gamut but is still quite affordable
Includes an array of expansion ports for peripherals
The high refresh rate can be easy on the eyes, especially for long editing sessions
Cons:
Not the biggest screen size compared to some of its peers
The simple, somewhat-outdated physical design feels more appropriate for an office cubicle
3. The best monitor for hobbyist photographers: Asus ProArt Display PA329CV
Hobbyist photographers don’t necessarily make a lot of money from their images, but they do take their craft seriously and often want something better than entry-level gear even if it means spending a bit more money. The Asus ProArt Display PA329CV does an outstanding job at meeting the needs of hobbyist photographers and even includes a C-clamp monitor stand to free up space on a desk or table.
Asus has been making high-quality computer hardware and peripherals for years, and its ProArt series is designed to go beyond the boring, drab, featureless monitors common in office environments and store displays. This one has a bright, brilliant display with an impressive color gamut that allows for faithful reproduction of all the intricate color details in any photograph and makes it easy to edit RAW files with precision. While the 4K resolution could be slightly better, especially given the size of the screen, the sheer quality of the pixels on display puts this monitor at the top of the list for any hobbyist photographer.
Pros:
Large size with an affordable price
The included C-clamp gives you more space on your desk
Includes built-in color presets ideal for photo editing
Cons:
Pixel density is a bit lower than some of its peers
Doesn’t include a webcam; this isn’t necessary for photo editing, of course, but it’s a bit unfortunate at this price
4. The best monitor for casual photographers: LG UltraFine 27UP650
Casual photographers are interested in photography and enjoy editing images but aren’t keen on spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars for the latest and greatest technology. They want a workhorse that will get the job done but don’t necessarily prioritize 6K resolutions and off-axis viewing angles. The LG UltraFine 27UP650 is a great choice for casual photographers because it is well-suited for image editing as well as a variety of other applications – and it comes at a very reasonable price that’s easy to afford. It’s a workhorse monitor that’s easy to recommend for casual photo editors (and many other people, too!).
The LG UltraFine 27UP650 is all about balance and compromise, but not necessarily at the expense of quality. Its 95% P3 color gamut won’t win any awards, and you won’t find special anti-glare coating or ultra-high refresh rates on this display. However, what you get with this monitor is a laundry list of very good technical specifications on a brilliant 4K screen at a price that’s far below many of its high-end peers. It’s great for casual photo editing, and it can easily handle other tasks such as spreadsheet work, internet surfing, and even gaming. While dedicated photographers might not care about those other things, casual photographers usually do, and that’s why the LG UltraFine 27UP650 is such a good option.
Pros:
Outstanding value makes it a great choice for casual photographers
27-inch size is not too small, but it’s also not too large for people with small workspaces
Can be rotated 90 degrees, which is great for portraits and not common among its similarly-priced peers
Cons:
Color reproduction is fine but could be better
No USB ports for peripherals like memory card readers or external storage drives
5. The best monitor for enthusiast photographers: Dell UltraSharp U3224KB
Dell hit a home run with this foray into the high-end monitor market. The Dell UltraSharp U3224KB is a great choice for enthusiast photographers who are tempted by the amazing features of the Apple Pro Display XDR but don’t want to empty their pockets to get it. This UltraSharp’s list of features is long and includes nearly everything a photo editor could ask for, including 6K resolution for clean, crisp details and a 99% P3 color gamut.
While this monitor is great for photo editing, it also excels at other tasks like videoconferencing thanks to a high-quality 4K webcam and general daily usage. It has an array of expansion ports so you can hook up other gear like external drives or another monitor, and the built-in speakers sound impressive for their size. It’s a bit overkill for casual and hobbyist photographers, but for enthusiast photographers who obsess over the tiniest details and need a high-performing screen that’s easy on the eyes and lighter on the wallet than some other options, this is a great choice.
Pros:
Amazing set of features for all types of photo editing
Specifically designed to reduce eye strain, which helps during long editing sessions
Huge array of expansion ports for peripherals
Cons:
An unsightly camera bump along the top of the display
Significantly more expensive than most other options on this list
Monitors for photo editors to avoid
Before concluding this article, I want to mention a few types of monitors that you should avoid for your photo editing. Some of these options may be tempting, but I urge you to go in a different direction.
Ultrawide curved monitors: If you have never seen a gigantic, expansive monitor – some of which are available in mind-melting sizes such as 49″ – you will be shocked the first time you lay eyes on one. Ultrawide curved monitors swallow your entire field of view and let you easily use multiple applications at the same time without constantly minimizing windows. They’re outstanding for lots of use-case scenarios like gaming and even office work, but not great for photo editing.
The main appeal of ultrawide curved monitors is their ability to give users vast amounts of horizontal display space, almost like two or three separate monitors glued together. But they don’t excel at things that matter most to photographers, like color reproduction or pixel density. Ultrawide monitors can display two or three images side by side, but if that’s your goal, I’d recommend just getting two monitors that are better suited for photo editing instead of a single ultrawide.
Televisions: It’s not uncommon for people to use flatscreen televisions as computer monitors. The price-to-size ratio of a television compared to a monitor is tough to beat, but the downside is that televisions are not well suited to photo editing or most other computer-related tasks. Televisions are designed to be viewed from farther away, generally have a much narrower color gamut, and can make photographs appear either oversaturated or washed out. Televisions are fine for PC gaming, but they’re not recommended for photo editing.
Older HD monitors: If you are using a monitor to edit photos that’s more than a few years old, you might be hindering your photo editing without realizing it. Older monitors have lower pixel densities that can make you think your camera or lens is broken, when in reality they simply can’t display fine details compared to modern screens. They also have poor viewing angles, smaller color gamuts, lower maximum brightness, and refresh rates that can lead to eyestrain. Decade-old DSLR and mirrorless cameras can produce incredible images, but if you are editing your files on monitors from the same era, I strongly recommend upgrading your screen before getting a new camera.
I shot this on a ten-year-old Nikon D750, but I edited it on a modern high-resolution monitor. My monitor allowed me to see the tiniest details and all the subtle color variations along with bright highlights and rich blacks.
Pick the perfect monitor for your editing requirements!
No matter what kind of photographer you are, or what type of images you create with your camera, it’s important to have a monitor for photo editing that meets your needs. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on a pro-level monitor; as I’ve detailed above, there are plenty of excellent monitors that come with a reasonable price tag and work great for more budget-conscious users.
Of course, if you are a professional or semi-professional photographer and you require the best of the best for your post-processing workflow, there are some great models that’ll really help your business. Hopefully, this article helped you land on the right monitor for your needs!
Now over to you:
What’s your favorite monitor for photo editing, and what qualities do you look for that you think would be important for other photographers to consider? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Have you ever taken a picture and been disappointed because it didn’t capture the moment? Maybe the image technically looked exactly like what you saw, but when viewing the image afterward, it was lacking…something.
It’s one of the greatest challenges photographers face: expressing a feeling or vision in a two-dimensional medium. Fortunately, as photographers, we don’t have to rely on our cameras alone; we can also express ourselves through post-processing adjustments. And one of the most overlooked tools in the photographer’s processing kit is color.
I’m not talking about the color of the things in your photograph, like a red car or yellow dress. I’m talking about the overall color cast – the color tone of the image as a whole. Color affects the way people feel, so if your images aren’t producing the feeling that you’re after, a color adjustment (also known as a color grade) might just do the trick.
Now, most editing programs offer a variety of tools for tweaking the color of your images, but in this article, I want to share one of my absolute favorite color-grading methods: split toning. It’s how I managed to create an image like this one:
This cityscape image looked nice, but it needed a little something extra. I added a warm split-tone, and everything fell into place!
Before I overwhelm you with the immense power of split toning, however, I’d like to spend a few seconds covering white balance, which is a more basic method of color grading an image.
Toning your images with white balance
When you want to adjust the overall color tone of your image, white-balancing tools are a good starting point.
Adjusting the white balance allows you to create warm or cool effects on a broad level. For instance, if it’s a cloudy day, you might want to move the temperature slider towards the warmer side, making your image appear more yellow-orange or sunny. Move it in the opposite direction, and your image will get cooler or more blue.
White balance is a decent tool for tweaking the overall color tone of your images, but it’s not very sophisticated. A cool split tone really helped this image pop!
Although changing the white balance of an image is helpful, both for correcting color casts and creating mood, it is still a global adjustment. It affects the entire image. In other words, it’s simplistic.
In my experience, editing the tone of your image with just the white balance is often like a mechanic trying to fix an engine with a sledgehammer. It’s not the right tool for the job.
To make more fine-tuned adjustments so you can have greater control over the overall mood of your images, split toning is the better choice!
Here, I’ve combined magenta and warm tones for a harmonious split-tone effect.
How to split tone an image
Toning first started as a way to change the color of black-and-white photographs. For instance, in the past, chemicals were added to the development process to give prints a sepia tone. Later on, other chemical toners were used to give images two different tones (e.g., red and blue); this was an early example of split toning in action!
It may sound complicated, but in today’s digital darkroom, all split toning really means is that you add color to the shadows, highlights, or both. Used straightforwardly, you can split tone an image by adding a color cast to the highlights, and then you add a separate color cast to the shadows.
One of the most common split-toning approaches is to make the highlights yellow and the shadows blue, or vice versa. However, you can also adjust a single color to create a particular mood (by adding blues into the shadows and nothing into the highlights, for instance).
For a long time, Adobe Lightroom Classic and Adobe Camera Raw offered a dedicated split-toning panel that looked like this:
This is what the split-toning panel used to look like in Adobe Lightroom Classic.
However, a few years ago, Adobe replaced the split-toning panel with a color grading panel. Here’s what the new panel looks like:
The Lightroom Classic panel with split-toning capabilities.
While the name has changed, you can still use the panel for split toning. In fact, in addition to a Shadows wheel and a Highlights wheel, you now have a Midtones wheel, which lets you selectively tone the midtones of your images!
Most editing programs offer this type of color-grading panel, including Capture One and ACDSee Photo Studio. If you’re not sure whether your program of choice includes split-toning tools, look for color wheels like the ones displayed above. (And if you’re in a pinch, a Curves tool can also do the trick; it’s just a bit more difficult to operate.)
How I like to split tone my photos: magenta zen
My favorite color cast to add to my images is magenta. Like a yin and yang varnish, this color (a purplish-red) represents harmony, balance, love, and personal growth. It has a calming effect that stimulates creativity and happiness.
When split toning for magenta, I usually make my adjustments to either the shadows or highlights. I rarely make changes to both, as it tends to be overkill.
More often than not, I adjust the shadows, as it’s usually the underexposed, darker parts of the image I am trying to bring out. If the image is very bright, then I apply the magenta split tone to the highlights.
There is no rule as to how far you should move the sliders. However, I like to keep things pretty restrained. It all depends on the image and the intensity of the colors, shadows, and highlights.
Another bonus to adding some magenta is that it tends to take off the rough color edges. Browns, greens, and yellows are smoothed out, giving your photos a softer tone.
Here’s another one of my magenta split tones. Thanks to the magenta in the shadows, the image feels more harmonious!
As I said, I like to use magenta in my photos, but you might prefer something different, and that’s completely okay. Whether a certain color works in an image also depends on the existing colors and tones in the photo, so don’t get discouraged if a particular split-tone effect works nicely on one image but looks unnatural on the next.
If you’re not sure how to pick the right colors for your split-tone effect, I recommend just dragging your cursor around the different color wheels and see what you think. The more you experiment with different effects, the sooner you’ll get a good sense of how different colors can impact your images.
One more tip is to do your best to keep the effect relatively natural. When you first start out with split toning, it’s easy to go color-grade crazy and apply intense toning to each and every image. But while this might look good at first, you’ll soon come to realize that the resulting images have unnatural colors (and obvious editing effects).
If you’re not sure if you’ve overdone an image, it can help to take a quick peek at the original image prior to your edits. Another handy approach is to walk away from your computer for a few minutes, then come back with fresh eyes!
A few more examples of split-toned images
If you’re interested in split toning but are still struggling to understand what it can do for your images, here are a few more of my photos, all edited with a split-tone effect:
A warm split tone works great with that low sun!
For a night scene like this one, a cooler split tone – with blues or purples in the shadows – often looks nice.
Look carefully at this image. Do you see how simple and harmonious the color palette feels? That’s thanks to split toning!
Have fun split toning your photos – and don’t forget to experiment!
As I said above, while I like to use magenta to color grade my images, split toning is about so much more!
Yes, magenta often works well, and you can use it in your photos to see what you can produce, but I’d encourage you to move beyond this simple adjustment. For instance, try adjusting the warmth or coolness using the split toning panel instead of the white balance panel.
You can also use a classic orange-teal split tone to give your photos a cinematic feel, or you can add blues or oranges into the shadows to create an old film look. Have fun, get creative, and find what works for you!
Now over to you:
Do you plan to use split toning as part of your editing workflow? How will you approach it? Share your thoughts – and your split-toned photos! – in the comments below.
Has anyone ever said to you, “That’s a nice photo; you must have an expensive camera”? It’s a common line – and a common source of frustration for photographers. According to photography legend Ansel Adams, “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!”
Your camera is simply a tool, one that you use to create your vision of the scene in front of you. A camera can only do what you tell it to; it’s not going to capture that “nice photo” all by itself.
That said, specific camera types and models do come with different benefits. So if a camera doesn’t perform up to your expectations, then it may be time for an upgrade – from APS-C to full frame.
I recently made the jump from a crop sensor camera to a full-frame body. In this article, I don’t want to get into a technical discussion about the differences between a crop-sensor camera and a full-frame camera. Instead, I want to talk about if and when upgrading to a full-frame camera is desirable, especially for those who are on the fence about purchasing a full-frame body.
So let’s start with a discussion of some important full-frame pros and cons:
Advantages of a full-frame camera
I took this image at ISO 6400 on a full-frame Nikon D750. Thanks to the larger sensor, I was able to capture great tonal range and acceptable noise levels, despite the ultra-high ISO setting.
Shooting with a full-frame camera comes with several important benefits. Here are the main advantages to bear in mind as you consider an upgrade from APS-C to full frame:
Enhanced low-light performance: Full-frame cameras have larger sensors, which in turn have bigger pixels; as a result, you get less noise at higher ISOs. In most cases, you will get a one- or two-stop improvement in high-ISO noise over crop-sensor cameras. Thus, with a full-frame camera, you can push your ISO higher in low-light situations to maintain a faster shutter speed or a narrower aperture.
More control over depth of field: This is a commonly misunderstood benefit of full-frame cameras because the larger sensor does not really affect the depth of field of an image. However, with the larger sensor of a full-frame camera, you can move closer to the subject while using an equivalent focal length, and this causes the depth of field to become narrower. Ultimately, you get smoother background bokeh.
Improved dynamic range and color depth: A full-frame sensor can record more tonal range within shadows and highlights. Detail and color are much improved at both ends of the spectrum. With a full-frame camera, you’ll often be able to successfully capture a high-contrast scene with a single shot, and you won’t have to rely on HDR techniques or GND filters to ensure that the shadows and highlights have plenty of detail.
Disadvantages of a full-frame camera
This heron in flight was captured at a high ISO to achieve the fast shutter speed needed to get a sharp wildlife image.
Shooting full frame isn’t all sunshine and roses. Sure, there are plenty of benefits (see above!), but there are some significant drawbacks, too:
Expense: Not only is the cost of a full-frame DSLR or mirrorless camera higher than crop sensor alternatives, but you may also need to invest in full-frame lenses, which can set you back thousands of dollars.
Size and weight: Simply put, full-frame cameras are bulkier than their crop-sensor counterparts. With advances in mirrorless technology, this is less of a problem – full-frame mirrorless cameras like the Sony a7 IV are very compact compared to full-frame DSLRs like the Nikon D850 – but for travel photographers, street photographers, and anyone else looking to keep their setup light and portable, the difference will be noticeable. Perhaps more importantly, full-frame lenses are larger and heavier; here, mirrorless technology has not made a significant difference, and you can expect that full-frame 70-200mm f/2.8 lens to weigh you down, regardless of whether you use a mirrorless camera or a DSLR.
No crop factor: The telephoto reach of a full-frame camera is lessened by not having a crop sensor. A 200mm lens on a full-frame camera reaches 200mm; a 200mm lens on a 1.5x crop sensor camera reaches 300mm. However, whether this is a benefit or a drawback depends on the type of subjects you like to shoot. For wildlife, sports, and bird photographers, a crop factor offers much-needed extra reach. For landscape and cityscape photographers, on the other hand, a crop factor often takes away from the desired wide perspective.
Questions to ask before upgrading to full frame
If you’ve made it this far and you still like the sound of a full-frame camera, it’s time to ask yourself a few key questions:
How much will it cost?
As mentioned above, a full-frame camera is significantly more expensive than a crop sensor one, plus you’ll likely need to purchase new lenses.
There isn’t much use in changing to full frame if you are not going to use high-quality lenses designed for full-frame cameras. So if you plan to make the jump to full frame, you may want to begin by upgrading your lenses to those compatible with full-frame cameras. (Full-frame lenses work well on crop-sensor cameras, but the reverse is not true!)
What type of photography do you enjoy shooting?
Choosing a smaller aperture of f/22 produced enough depth of field to keep both the boys and the waterfalls in focus when using my full-frame Nikon D750.
Full-frame sensors offer advantages and disadvantages for different types of photography.
Landscape: Enhanced low-light performance and more detail are both key advantages of full-frame cameras for landscape photography. You also get a wider perspective thanks to the lack of a crop factor. The only possible drawback here is the effectively shallower depth of field, but this can be compensated for by using a smaller f-stop.
Portraits: The larger size of a full-frame sensor will result in a shallower depth of field. For portraiture, this means the backgrounds can feature more blur and make the subjects stand out better.
Wildlife: A full-frame camera loses the telephoto reach that a crop sensor camera offers. Nevertheless, a lot of wildlife photography is shot in low-light situations, where a full-frame sensor gives a significant advantage.
Sports: As with wildlife photography, high-ISO capabilities are helpful for sports photography. However, the loss of increased reach may be a problem, depending on your lenses.
This scene was captured at 24mm on a full-frame Nikon D750. The white line shows how much of this image would be captured on a crop sensor camera from the same shooting location. For this type of cityscape photography, a full-frame field of view is very helpful!
To summarize:
If you are a portrait or landscape shooter, there are many reasons to switch to full frame. In fact, nearly every professional portrait and landscape photographer ultimately makes the switch from APS-C to full frame.
However, if you’re a sports or wildlife shooter, you’ll need to consider more carefully. There are plenty of serious sports and wildlife photographers who prefer to use a crop-sensor camera; in fact, it’s the reason that Canon has consistently released fast-focusing, rugged APS-C cameras such as the Canon 7D Mark II, and more recently, the (mirrorless) Canon EOS R7.
This image was captured at 600mm with a full-frame camera. The white line shows the reach advantage that a crop sensor camera would provide. Still, capturing this image in low-light conditions with an ISO of 2000 was possible thanks to my full-frame sensor – and if I were working with an APS-C camera instead, I might have ended up with a frustratingly noisy file.
Is your current camera holding you back?
Every camera has a limited number of shutter releases, so if your camera is nearing the end of its life cycle, it might be time to consider an upgrade. If your older crop sensor model is limiting your results in low light, and you are constantly frustrated by high levels of noise, you might benefit from an upgrade to full frame.
However, keep in mind that it’s convenient to blame a camera for taking poor images, but it may not be the camera that’s holding you back.
Many times, photographers don’t get the results they expect from high-end equipment simply because they struggle with more fundamental techniques. No matter what type of camera you shoot with, get to know it and how all of its features work before moving on to a different one.
Despite the low light, I was able to capture a sharp handheld photo of this cityscape by increasing the ISO (which allowed me to use a faster shutter speed). My camera’s full-frame sensor ensured that the final photo had limited noise and plenty of dynamic range.
What is your level of photography experience?
A full-frame camera is probably not the best option for beginners.
Having a good handle on the exposure triangle (aperture, shutter speed, and ISO) and how its key components work together is essential if you’re going to take advantage of a full-frame sensor. If you’re not familiar with these different elements, and you’re not making careful camera settings decisions on your own, you may struggle to notice a useful difference between APS-C and full-frame sensors.
(Also, full-frame cameras are generally designed with advanced users in mind. Therefore, manufacturers often leave out beginner-friendly modes and guides that are helpful for new users but are avoided by professionals.)
Basically, if you are a beginner, I’d recommend starting with an entry-level camera and working up to a full-frame model. In fact, if you are looking for a camera to take photos of family and friends, a crop-sensor model is a great choice.
Do you make large prints?
A full-frame sensor has larger pixels, which will capture more light. This results in high-quality files and, consequently, beautiful large prints. If you never make prints larger than 8×10″, then a full-frame model won’t help you much here.
Also, since full-frame sensors are bigger, they tend to contain more megapixels. A 45 MP full-frame camera will produce far better large prints than a 24 MP APS-C camera (all else being equal, of course!).
Captured with a full-frame Nikon D750, this sunrise image reveals a nice range of tones, without any of the digital noise in the shadows that is likely to be present with some crop-sensor cameras.
Will purchasing a full-frame camera make you a better photographer?
You may have heard this quote, “Skill in photography is acquired by practice, not by purchase.”
Do you need a full-frame camera to capture great images? No, of course not! Most new crop sensor cameras on the market today are engineered to take beautiful images, and a great photographer can take great images with any camera, whether the sensor is full frame or crop.
But if you’re an experienced photographer, switching to full frame does come with real benefits that’ll expand your capabilities as a shooter.
The bottom line
If you are thinking of upgrading from a crop-sensor camera, be sure to consider the price, lens compatibility, and type of photography you do before you make the change to full frame. Jumping to a larger sensor can be intense – but if you’re ready for that big step, the results are often rewarding.
Now tell me:
Are you ready to go full frame? Please leave your answer in the comments below!
