[Photography] How to Use Photoshop to Resize and Sharpen Images for the Web

The post How to Use Photoshop to Resize and Sharpen Images for the Web appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter Dam.

Do you struggle with getting your images to look super sharp when you use them online? Do they even look blurry? No matter if you share your images on social media platforms or photo sharing sites like Flicker and 500px, you want your images to look as sharp as possible.

Most photographers come across web sharpening issues at some point. But did you know that most of the web sharpening issues you experience come from the resizing process? Resizing your image can make your image look blurry and a lot less sharp than the full sized image. You might have spent a long time processing your image so it would be a shame that it should end up as a less sharp online version.

In this article, you will learn the common pitfalls to sharpening your images for web use, and more importantly, how to sharpen in a way that gives you both full control and the best results.

However, let’s take a look at how not to resize images for online use before we dig into the best way to resize and sharpen in Photoshop.

Milford Sound Mitre Peak © Peter Dam

How NOT to resize and sharpen your images for online use

To get sharp and great looking images online, avoid uploading a full-sized image and relying on the website to handle resizing for you. You don’t have any control over the amount of sharpening (if any) that a website’s upload function add to your image.

You should also avoid just using the export dialogue in Photoshop. Even though it is good, it is not great. You can still end up with blurry images, especially if there is a dramatic size change. Like if you want to resize a 6000px wide image to being only 1200px.

Also, avoid just resizing in Photoshop and then let the export tool do the rest if you want the best results. Even though you resize the image, you have little control of the sharpening process when you only use the export tool.

How to sharpen your images in Photoshop for the best results

To follow along, open a copy of an image that you have already processed in Photoshop, as we go through the best method for resizing and sharpening your photos for online use.

Note: Make sure you use a copy of the image and not the original because you are going to resize your image to a much smaller version. If you accidentally save the image without renaming and close Photoshop, you can’t recover the image back to its full size.

The Chute © Peter Dam

It would be logical to go straight ahead and resize your image to the output size you want. However, this won’t lead to the best results as it may be difficult for Photoshop to properly sharpen an image that suffers from a quality loss when you resize a lot.

Instead, resize in two steps and sharpen in between the steps.

Let’s go through the process step-by-step using the dimensions from above as an example, resizing from a 6000px wide image down to 1200px wide.

The first step is to resize your image down to approx. 1.6 of the final output size that you want to use online. In this case, this would be 1.6 X 1200px = 1920px.

To resize your image in Photoshop, you should go to Image->Image Size and enter the width.

This gives you an image that hasn’t degraded too much from being resized but is still relatively close to the final image size.

Before resizing to the final output size, you should add sharpening. You do this by going to Filter->Sharpen->Sharpen.

If you like to keep track of what each layer does, I suggest renaming the layer to “Sharpened.”

After applying this first layer of sharpening, duplicate the layer. You can do this by pressing CMD+J (on Mac) or CTRL+J (on Windows).

Then apply another round of sharpening by using the menu Filter->Sharpen->Sharpen. Rename this layer to “Extra sharpening.”

Now you are ready to resize to the final image size. You do this by going to Image->Image Size and enter 1200px as the width.

Now that you have resized the image to the final output size, you should see that the image looks very sharp when you view it at its actual size.

If you think that it looks somewhat over-sharpened, you can easily adjust it by just changing the opacity of the of the topmost layer (the one called “Extra sharpening”). Pull down the opacity to around 60-70%.

Now you are done with the sharpening process. However, you should know that there are additional issues that occur when resizing images.

Sharpening an image also tends to make it a tiny bit brighter. If you want to address this, you should add a Levels adjustment layer and pull the midtone point slightly to the right. Usually changing the midtone point to 0.97 brings back the original brightness level. You can also use an Exposure adjustment layer if you prefer to use that instead of a Levels adjustment layer.

The colors in your image also suffer a bit when resizing and sharpening; however, it is not always visible. If you find that your image looks a bit less colorful now that it is resized, you should add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and add a bit of saturation back into the image. About +5 to +9 usually brings your image back to the level it was before resizing and sharpening.

That is the end of the web resizing and sharpening method used by many professional photographers using Photoshop.

If you are familiar with creating Photoshop actions, you can record the process of resizing and sharpening images to the dimensions you most often use online. This allows you to speed up the process significantly.

Exporting your image

The final step is to export your image. You can do this by going to File -> Export -> Export As…

The setting you choose when exporting your image depends on where you want to upload your image. For some sites, like image galleries or your portfolio website, image quality is more important than the file size. Whereas, blogs prefer to have smaller file sizes, but with a bit lower image quality.

One of the most important things, as discussed in this article, is that the result is a sharp looking image. You already took care of this by following the sharpening and resizing workflow above, where you resized the image to the output size you need. This means that you don’t have to worry about resizing the image or what resample method to use during export.

The only thing to worry about when following this sharpening and resize workflow is choosing the file format you want and the quality to use. The file format is most likely going to be JPG for web use. The image quality settings depend on whether you prefer a really small file size (so the image loads lightning fast online), or whether you prefer to maintain the best image quality possible. Usually, you can lower the image quality to 80% without a visible drop in image quality. This is my preferred personal setting for image quality. You can optimize the file size even more by using a lower image quality. However, I would never recommend going lower than 50% to get smaller file sizes. There are also some image optimizing sites you can use, such as TinyJpeg, that lower your file size without compromising your image quality too much.

Conclusion

Admittedly, it is a lot more complicated method for resizing your images than using the inbuilt Export feature in Photoshop. However, it also leads to much better results. What use is it to put much effort into capturing and processing an image, if it doesn’t look as great as it could when you show it online?

What method do you use for sharpening your images before using them online? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

The post How to Use Photoshop to Resize and Sharpen Images for the Web appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter Dam.

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[Photography] Reverse Lens Macro – How to Make Macro Photos with “Backward Thinking”

The post Reverse Lens Macro – How to Make Macro Photos with “Backward Thinking” appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

Occasionally a little “backward thinking” can be a good thing, especially when it comes to coming up with an economical way to do macro photography. Sure, you can shell out a few hundred dollars for a nice macro lens. You might give extension tubes or bellows a try, or even buy some closeup diopter lenses. But what if I told you how you could use that old film camera lens and an adapter easily purchased for under $15 to make some nice macro images? Might that not be a great and inexpensive way to explore the macro world? Great… now get ready to “think backwards.”

Yes, literally… You will need to think backward to take advantage of what is called “Reverse-Lens Macro Photography.” You will be mounting a lens backward on your camera so what is normally the front of the lens is the part that attaches to your camera. Before we look at how to do this, let’s first define “macro photography.”

The Reverse Lens Macro Technique is a great way to enter the world of macro photography economically.

What is “true” macro?

Many lens manufacturers indicate their lens has “macro capability” and they might even put the word “macro” on the lens. These lenses indeed allow you to focus closely on your subject. However, in the true sense of the term, a macro photo is one in which the size of the image recorded on the camera sensor is the same size (or larger) than the physical object photographed – a 1:1 magnification ratio or greater.

This might be a close-up, but is not a “true” macro photograph.

Here’s a practical example: A U.S. Quarter is 0.955 inches (24.26 mm) in diameter. A full-frame digital camera sensor measures 24mm x 36mm. So shot with a true macro lens on a full-frame camera, the uncropped image below represents a 1:1 magnification ratio or a true macro photograph. On a crop sensor camera where the sensor is 14.9×22.2mm (Canon) a 1:1 shot of a quarter would more than fill the frame. So, if the lens you’re using cannot focus close enough to fill the frame with a quarter, it might be a close-up lens but isn’t a true macro. Don’t be fooled by cropped images either. An image can be cropped tighter in editing, but that alone does not make it a “macro” photo.

This is a full-frame shot. Notice the width of the shot is about 36mm, the size of the camera sensor. This is a true 1:1 macro shot.

I shot this image with the reverse Pentax 50mm lens. It’s not giving “true” macro magnification

This Is how close I could get with the reversed Vivitar zoomed out to 28mm. Remember, the wider the focal length, the closer you can get to your subject.

Does it matter? No, not really. The fun is getting close to your subject. Close enough to see things you might not be able to see with your unaided eye. Whether it is a “true macro” may not matter unless you are entering a contest where only true macro shots are allowed. How close you can get depends on the equipment you have. How close is close enough? Well, that’s an artistic judgment.

Before we start… some cautions

Anytime you take the lens off your digital camera you expose the sensor and the insides to dust. You will be taking your lens off for this procedure. If you aren’t placing another (reversed) lens onto the camera, use a body cap to keep dust out until you are ready.

When you do put the reverse lens on your camera, know that the back end with its associated controls, connection pins, rear element and such will also be exposed. Use a rear cap on it when you’re not working with your set-up. Practice the same cautions you use with regards to dust and all will be fine.

Ordinary objects like this set of keys become subjects for interesting photos when viewed as macro images.

Macro options

There are several ways to make macro photos.

These include:

1. A Dedicated Macro Lens – The easiest but the most expensive
2. Extension tubes or a bellows which increase the distance between the lens and the sensor
3. Magnifying lenses (diopters) put in front of an existing lens
4. Reversing a lens on the camera – This is the technique we’ll be teaching here.

What lenses work?

Almost any lens can work for this technique including those you usually use on your digital camera. Do you want to see? Take the lens off your camera, hold it backward and tight to the camera body, turn on the camera and get close – very close to a subject. Move very slightly toward and away from the subject to focus. The focus ring has little impact.

You can see this technique shown on numerous online videos and while it may give you a macro in a pinch, it’s not very practical. Trying to hold the camera with a loose lens and adjusting focus might be okay if you’re in the field and have nothing better, but it’s hardly optimal.

You’ll also note that once you disconnect the lens from the camera, you no longer have autofocus or aperture control. The camera may show a blank where the f/stop would typically be. I’ve seen the technique where you set the aperture with the lens on the camera, push the depth-of-field preview button and then disconnect the lens, so the aperture stays fixed at that setting. Right… funky at best. Let’s teach you how to do this right.

Old film camera lenses are perfect for this technique as they usually have an aperture ring on the lens.

Got an old film camera lens?

If you’re an old guy like me, you remember film. You might even have your old film camera and a few lenses for it kicking around. If not, film camera lenses are cheap at pawn shops, online, or even at garage sales. For this technique, lens brand or mount type doesn’t matter since you’re not going to be connecting the lens to the camera in the usual way. Almost ANY lens will work so long as it has filter threads on the front.

The lenses I used with my old Pentax ME Super film camera are a 50mm Pentax lens with a 49mm filter ring and a Vivitar 28-105mm zoom with a 72mm filter ring. The thing to remember when using reversed lenses is the wider the focal length, the closer you can get to your subject. A zoom lens gives you a “variable macro.”

The biggest reason old film camera lenses work best for this is, unlike most digital lenses, they have aperture control rings on the lens. You won’t have aperture control from the camera, so having it on the lens is perfect.

Reversing rings are what you need to mount your lens backward on your camera.

Setting it all up

Here’s where the “backward thinking” comes in. To mount your lens to your camera you need to attach it backward. You need to use an adapter with male threads on one end and the proper mount type for your camera on the other end.

In my case, I used a Canon EOS mount so I could attach the lens to my Canon 6D. I bought two Reversing Ring adapters, one with 72mm threads on one end and a Canon EOS mount on the other. The second, with 49mm threads and a Canon EOS mount on the other. Mine are cheap Fotodiox rings, at $7.95 US each for the 49mm, and 72mm from Amazon. The things to remember when buying these is to get the proper filter thread size and camera mount type.

They are available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Panasonic, and many other camera mount types.

This, shot with the reversed Pentax 50mm might be a close-up, but is not a “true” macro photograph.

This is shot with the reversed Vivitar at 28mm giving even more than a 1:1 macro magnification. Note how sliver-thin the depth-of-field is

The mechanics of making your macros – a step-by-step approach to making this work

Mount the lens

Screw the adapter to the lens filter threads and then mount the lens (backward of course) to the camera. Choose the lens you want by considering how much magnification you want – Shorter focal lengths allow you to get close to the subject with more magnification, longer focal lengths allow you to be further from the subject.

With my lenses, the 50mm Pentax prime gave a little more than a 1:1 ratio. The Vivitar 28-105mm zoom at 28mm was almost a 2:1 ratio. At 105, it was more a “close-up” rather than a macro lens and around 70mm was 1:1.

This is the Vivitar 28-105 reverse-mounted on a Canon 6D.

Use a tripod

The magnification of macro greatly amplifies any camera movement and, with very limited depth of field, trying to work handheld will be frustrating, if not impossible. If there’s any wind, shooting outside probably won’t work either.

Subject Selection

Your depth of field with this technique will be sliver-thin, sometimes only a few millimeters. Beginners might want to start with subjects with minimal depth and shoot them, so they lie in the same “focal plane” as the camera. Stamps, coins, paper bills, or other flat objects are great, especially when you’re learning the technique.

Lighting

You’ll often be really close to your subject and in your own light. You’ll also be wanting to use smaller apertures to get more depth of field, further reducing light. Get creative with how you light your subject.

Camera settings – Use Manual Mode

You will be able to control ISO and Shutter Speed, but not Aperture. Remember, that’s on the lens ring.

Open the Aperture Ring all the way while you focus. Move the camera or subject in tiny increments to get focus (the focus ring won’t have much effect.) If you’re using a zoom, you can use the zoom feature to help you focus. If your camera has Live View, use that. Use the Zoom feature of Live View to magnify your image and check the critical focus. If not, you’ll have to use the viewfinder. Also, remember that autofocus doesn’t work here and so LCD screens where you touch to focus aren’t going to help.
Stop down the Lens with the Aperture Ring once you’ve focused. Smaller apertures (like usual with all photography) give greater depth of field.

You will usually be struggling to get more depth of field in macro photography! Also know that as you stop down the lens, things get darker. It’s sometimes hard to adjust the aperture ring without bumping the focus slightly, so be prepared to refocus.

Making your shots

Shoot, “chimp,” adjust exposure, and repeat. To control exposure typically adjusting shutter speed on the camera should be the easiest. Expect to make LOTS of shots, making adjustments as you go to get that “perfect shot.” Macro photography can be “fiddly,” so get used to it.

A focusing rail, like this one from Neewer, can greatly aid you in making very fine focus adjustments.

Taking it to the next level

If you decide you like macro photography and want to make things a little easier and more precise, you may want to invest in a Focus Rail. Mount this device to your tripod, and mount your camera to it. Using a system of fine gears and adjustment knobs, you can move your camera in tiny increments. Macro is a game of millimeter movements and obtaining more precise control can be a huge help. Taking it up even more, one can buy very sophisticated rails, some with motorized, computer-controlled movement. If you’re ready for that, you’re not as likely to be using the reversed lens technique. I’m quite happy with my Neewer Macro Focusing Rail which cost under US$30.00.

Even at f/22, the depth of field is very limited. Focus stacking would need to be used to get this whole image in focus.

Focus stacking

Sometimes more is better, right? When you can’t get enough depth-of-field with one shot, taking multiple shots (each focused to a just slightly different point), and combining them in editing to get a front-to-back depth of field, may be the answer. Photoshop has focus-stacking capabilities and for a beginner is a good place to start. When you’re ready to dive deep into focus stacking, programs like Helicon Focus or Zerene Stacker are what the pros use.

I have a friend in our camera club who decided to pursue macro photography in a big way. He purchased a motorized, programmable focus rail, a nice macro lens, bellows, extension tubes, and then uses Zyrene Stacker to assemble what are often dozens of images into a single spectacular macro. I’m happy at the moment to use my reverse mounted film camera lenses, (though I did purchase a dedicated Tamron 90mm macro lens too).

A member of my camera club made this shot using the technique of focus stacking. This shot, razor sharp through the shot, (tough to do in a macro image!) is actually 118 shots combined with the program Zerene Stacker. This online image doesn’t do it justice. As a print, it is absolutely stunning! – Photo by Robert Riddle.

Conclusion

One of the attractions of photography is that it teaches you to see and then share through your photos, things people don’t ordinarily notice or see. Macro photography takes that a step further, opening up a tiny and incredible world of detail. The reverse lens macro trick is one that allows you to get a glimpse into this new world with minimal expenditure. I hope you’ll give it a try!

The post Reverse Lens Macro – How to Make Macro Photos with “Backward Thinking” appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

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[Photography] How to Find Great Photography Opportunities Where You Live

The post How to Find Great Photography Opportunities Where You Live appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Prasad Np.

Are you one of those folks who wait to travel to an exotic destination to make photographs? Is your camera nicely packed or gathering dust until you are traveling or on an assignment because you don’t have enough inspiration or subjects? If you are one such photographer, then you are actually missing countless photography opportunities right in front of you. No matter what level of skill and experience you have, the more you take your camera out and make photos, the better you get.

This image of the Gurgaon Metro was taken in the night on one of the busiest streets of the city and clicked from 20-floors above © Prasad Np

Gone are the days when you made images on film, and there was a cost involved in acquiring and processing rolls of films. Now, thanks to the digital cameras, you can take as many photos you want and keep on learning and improving every day.

So there’s no reason to wait until you are traveling to an exotic location to make images. Look around you, and you will find countless opportunities to make beautiful images, test your technical skills and take your game to the next level.

Whether you live in a developing city like Gurgaon (where I live), or in a picturesque mountain town, there are photographs to be made and shared. So the question is, how do you find great photo opportunities when you think you live in a boring location?

Sunset In Gurgaon © Prasad Np

The first step is to believe there are beautiful photographs around you that you must capture. It doesn’t matter what your preferred genre of photography is. Whether you enjoy wildlife, landscape, people or street photography, there are photographs to be made right near your home, in your own city.

Advantages of photographing your city and its surroundings

The advantages of photographing your city and its surroundings include:

• You get to practice photography regularly and dissect your photographs technically and artistically to take better photos next time
• You don’t have to travel a lot. You can always take pictures close to your home
• Unlike when traveling to an exotic, faraway location where you may get only a short window to get the shot, closer to home you can always revisit the place and get the shots you may have missed the first time
• If you are not happy with some of the photos, you can always go again and click, and you can also plan the shots in a better way, especially in cases like the city skyline, or sunsets

So here are a few pointers for you to find great photo opportunities right where you live. In this post, I am sharing some images I made in Gurgaon – a city I now call home.

Go for skyline and redefine it

Every city has its own iconic skyline that people can identify it with. However, that should not restrict you from trying to redefine or interpret it in your way. You can always go for a different shot; especially if the city is still developing. Capturing it as it develops creates an everlasting record of the change the city went through as it grew.

Even the most mundane of skylines can give a dramatic effect when you combine it with beautiful clouds or a sunset. Because you know the best vantage points from your previous experiences in your city, you can be well prepared and reach the spot in time to get the shot you have always wanted to take.

A Housing Society In Gurgaon © Prasad Np

Photograph seasonal natural phenomenon like blooming of trees

Many cities in Japan are known for the Sakura or Cherry Blossom festivals. Think about what the equivalent may be in your city. Every change of season brings a visual spectacle that is a hallmark of that season. In Gurgaon and most of North India, April to June are months of Golden Shower. The hotter the weather, the more beautiful flowers of Indian laburnum trees you find. Make a point to find out when the local trees in your area are in bloom, so you are prepared to take their pictures. An advantage of this is you can go over an extended period and click pictures of the same tree in various stages of bloom, including being barren in autumn. If you have these trees growing close to local landmarks, then your pictures may be easily identified with your city.

Laburnum blooms Gurgaon © Prasad Np

Local festivals and fairs

Local festivals & fairs are a great way to photograph your local community and happenings around you. Festivals and fairs are excellent opportunities to document the vibrancy and bonhomie of your city and how people connect – more so when a festival is a community event. “Lohri” is one such festival celebrated on 13th of January every year. Here, they light large communal bonfires in various housing communities, and people walk around the fire singing songs and celebrating. Find out what festivals your city celebrates. It could be as big as Christmas or something that could be very local, like a fair. Be there and make images to your heart’s desire.

Lohri Festival Bonfire Gurgaon © Prasad Np

Night photography in your city

A big city is no place for star trails as light pollution may be too much. However, there are other night photography opportunities in abundance. All you need is a good vantage point, your DSLR and a sturdy tripod. Any high-rise with a safe observation area or a balcony can become your vantage point to capture the light trails of vehicles down below.

Look for exciting locations like a curve in the local metro train tracks and wait for the train to come along. You can also click interesting images while incorporating the moon against your city skyline. The photo below of Super blood moon was deliberately clicked with part of it hiding behind the building to give an idea of the size of the moon compared to a normal one you see in the picture with the power towers.

Super Blood Moon Gurgaon © Prasad Np

Power Towers Gurgaon © Prasad Np

Go abstract

Night photography is also a great time to go abstract with some images of your city. While there are no creative limits to what you can do when trying to create a work of abstract photography, it is always a good idea to never overdo it, especially when you are beginning. A creative idea you can try is to move to manual focus and deliberately click out of focus images that render the distant lights with a bokeh-like effect. Use a tripod or keep your camera on a sturdy surface. Also, use a time release button or remote to click images to keep your images sharp.

Abstract Night Photograph Gurgaon © Prasad Np

Be observant of your surroundings

One of the keys to photography is being observant of your surroundings. Even when you are on your apartment balcony or in your backyard, there are enough photography opportunities available to you. If you live in a highrise, look down. You may get an interesting frame like the photo below of the two kids carrying similar umbrellas on the sidewalk. Or perhaps, the cars passing below under the trees that look like a beast under the canopy of the rainforest.

Kids Walking with Umbrellas © Prasad Np

Car under tree Gurgaon © Prasad NP

Conclusion

As you can see, any place can be a good location for making photographs. Don’t miss any opportunity to take photos as it helps in honing your skills both technically and artistically. Most of all, photographing your own city helps you learn much faster. You have an opportunity to click images in various seasons, in many light situations and go back as you need.

Now it is your turn, do share where you live and your favorite image that you made in your own city.

The post How to Find Great Photography Opportunities Where You Live appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Prasad Np.

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[Photography] 6 Ways to Easily Improve Your Landscape Photography

The post 6 Ways to Easily Improve Your Landscape Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jeremy Flint.

Capturing beautiful scenery is one of the most enjoyable aspects of outdoor photography where you can fully immerse yourself in a breathtaking landscape and record the scene unfolding right before your eyes. There is so much available to shoot when out in the field photographing landscapes, from epic vistas of majestic mountains to lush, and green rolling hills. Here are 6 ways to help you improve your landscape photography:

1. Include a point of interest

Lavendar, Provence, France © Jeremy Flint

Usually, when people are first starting in landscape photography, they take pictures of the countryside to show a view of the land and sky but don’t consider other aspects such as adding an interesting feature to their frame.

One way to bring your landscapes to life is to add a point of interest in your photograph.

Some suggestions for points of interest could be an outbuilding, a fence, gate, tree, hedgerows or anything else you can find that would enhance your images. This extra feature could lift your landscape images from ordinary to excellent.

2. See the light

Namibia © Jeremy Flint

Light is one of the great aspects of photography that can help to improve your landscape images. Have you ever been to a location only to find the weather was cloudy and overcast? While this can be great for some types of photography, such as coastal and seascape scenes, having some light shining on a landscape scene can help to improve your image. Landscape scenes without light can often be flat and uninteresting. So be sure to make the most of the light when the sun is out as it can bring your landscapes to life.

I recommend looking out for changing patterns of light and be aware of how the sun affects your shots. For example, during the middle of the day, the sun is much higher in the sky and lights up most of the landscape from above. Whereas, when the sun sits lower in the sky, shadows can form where some parts of your scene become shaded.

© Jeremy Flint

3. Consider where to place the horizon

Depending on what you are photographing and what you are trying to achieve, it would be advantageous to consider the horizon and where you intend to place it in your landscape images.

Whatever you find most appealing, you may want to consider including more sky or foreground in your frame. If you find the sky more interesting, place the horizon on the lower third section of your image. Alternatively, if you think the foreground is more appealing position the horizon towards the upper third of the frame. Also, placing the horizon line in the middle of your pictures could make a landscape more balanced. It is entirely your choice and comes down to how you want your final image to look.

© Jeremy Flint

4. Eliminate distractions

The elimination of distractions may seem like an obvious aspect to consider when photographing landscapes. However, it is amazing how many photos include distracting elements. Remember that sometimes less is more and that by taking certain eyesores out of your frame, such as unsightly telephone wires or lampposts, can improve your landscape photos dramatically.

5. Time of day

© Jeremy Flint

The time of day you decide to capture landscapes can affect how your images look. I appreciate that you may be limited on time or are only able to take photos at certain times of the day due to work, family or other commitments. Therefore, use this to your advantage as landscape photography can look good at any time of day – daytime, sunrise or sunset.

Don’t limit yourself to the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset as you waste far too much of the day. You can take great pictures at any hour! For example, daytime can be just as good as sunset, especially if it is a cloudy day as the clouds complement the scene and can add drama.

Talybony-on-Usk, Brecon Beacons © Jeremy Flint

6. Focus

The last element to consider when looking to improve your landscapes is the focus. Ask yourself are you looking to get the entire landscape sharp or would you prefer a part of the image to be out of focus?

Using a wider depth of field enables your images to have front-to-back sharpness, whereas using a narrower depth of field renders the foreground or background out of focus. Applying the latter technique can be used for creative effect if you are looking to emphasize a particular part of your image, such as a prominent tree or object.

Conclusion

I recommend putting these tips into practice to see how they may help you improve your landscape photos and share the pictures you take with us below. What methods do you find help improve your landscape photography that you would like to share?

The post 6 Ways to Easily Improve Your Landscape Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jeremy Flint.

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[Photography] How to Achieve Monitor Calibration on a Budget

The post How to Achieve Monitor Calibration on a Budget appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.

Photographers will often tell you to buy a calibration device for your monitor. It’s the pro thing to do. But do you need one? After all, most of the photo world manages without such a device and still enjoys its pictures.

Even among “serious” photographers, many do not have a workflow that fully utilizes calibration. Plus, there are differences between monitors and other devices that calibration cannot always bridge. Color management is not a perfect science.

Calibration versus Profiling

Before going any further, it’s useful to distinguish between calibration and profiling. If you use a hardware device (e.g. colorimeter), it will calibrate your monitor. It then builds a profile based on the calibrated state you just created.

 

A profile describes the monitor so that color-managed programs display colors accurately. Included among calibration settings are black level (brightness), white level (contrast), white point (color temp) and gamma.

A custom profile reflects the output of your monitor. This image shows the gamut of my monitor enveloping (mostly) the sRGB color space.

If you don’t own a calibration device, you can still calibrate a monitor manually, but you can’t profile it.

The disadvantages of calibrating a monitor without a device are as follows:

• Human eyesight is unreliable, so the more you “eyeball” during the calibration process, the further astray you may go.
• You cannot physically measure the monitor’s condition (e.g. luminance in cd/m²). That means you can’t return it to the same state with each calibration.

This optical illusion demonstrates how easily deceived the eyes are. Squares A and B are identical in tone. Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Do you need a calibration device?

A calibration device isn’t expensive compared to camera bodies and lenses, but the best can cost a couple of hundred dollars or more. The $200 question, then, is do you need one?

Yes: if you use an inkjet printer and want “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” results. In that case, a calibrator is vital. You need accurate profiles for soft-proofing, where you preview print colors before printing.

Yes: if you’re a pro or semi-pro shooting color-critical subjects (e.g. products, fashion).

Probably: if you pay for Photoshop CC, otherwise you are undermining its color capabilities. That said, many Adobe features are not dependent on pin-point color accuracy.

Maybe not: if you’re a stock photographer, since there is no direct client or color-managed chain. One of the world’s biggest libraries, Alamy, has millions of non-color-managed photos on its website.

Maybe not: if you get your prints done at the mall or via the Internet. In that case, the need for a calibration device is less. Why? Because most labs are not color managed. So, a disconnect exists even if you calibrate and profile.

In Photoshop CC, the ability to “proof colors” depends on an accurate monitor profile as well as an output profile. If you identify a need for this feature, you also need a calibration device.

The need for a calibration device might hinge on your approach. Content is almost everything in photos. Most people viewing your pictures will not be privy to the color you saw on your monitor.

Black & white level calibration

The less you do to a monitor, the less you cause problems like banding, and the better it performs. You needn’t adjust all the settings a monitor has. Even when using a calibration device, many people leave gamma and white point in their “native” condition.

You’ll be in a minority if you can view this gradient without seeing any banding, lines or colors (it’s in grayscale). The more you adjust your monitor, the worse this effect will be. But it will only rarely affect photos.

With the above in mind, you could just calibrate the black and white levels. This ensures you can see shadow and highlight detail while editing, preferably in subdued lighting. The process would be something like this:

• Reset the monitor to default settings.
• Using black level patches, lower the brightness setting until the darkest patch (#1) is not visible, then brighten it so it is — barely.
• Using white level patches, adjust contrast if necessary to make the brightest patch (#254) just about visible.

(The #254 pattern on the Lagom site is hard to see except under very subdued light, so #253 will suffice.)

The numbers used to set black and white levels are the same as in an 8-bit image or a levels adjustment (i.e. 0-255). Thus, “0” is pitch black and “255” is the whitest white. All levels in between should be visible.

Most monitors are too bright out of the box. Aside from being poor for editing, this reduces the lifespan of the backlighting.

Free calibration software

There are a couple of free software-only calibration programs. Although they create a profile for you, this profile is not based on the output of your monitor since no measuring takes place. At best, it will be a generic profile taken from your monitor’s EDID data, which may be better than the sRGB alternative.

QuickGamma (Windows)

QuickGamma is a free program that lets you calibrate gamma and black level, but I’d suggest calibrating the latter as described earlier. (I think scrutinizing individual patches is less error prone than squinting at a ramp.) One benefit of QuickGamma v4 is that it can calibrate multiple monitors.

Screenshots of the QuickGamma utility program.

 

If you want to adjust gamma, follow the instructions supplied with the download. I’d advise against adjusting red, green and blue levels unless you see a color cast in the gray bands. Stick to adjusting the gray level if possible. Should you want to adjust the red, blue and green levels, try using this page with the software.

QuickGamma creates a profile based on generic monitor EDID data or sRGB. The first should be more accurate. The profile carries the calibration data, which loads separately on startup. (Windows Desktop does not use the profile.)

Calibrize (Windows)

Calibrize is a simple utility for adjusting black level, white level, and gamma. Unlike QuickGamma, it can only handle single monitors. It doesn’t let you set gray gamma, so you are forced to tweak red, green and blue levels. Adjusting these RGB levels is easier than in QuickGamma, but you’ll still need to squint at the screen to do it.

To build a profile, Calibrize also uses the EDID color data within most monitors. If this is unavailable, I’d guess it uses sRGB.

The first and second screens of Calibrize software.

Windows & Mac built-in calibration

Apple and recent Windows operating systems have built-in calibration tools. Personally, I find third-party calibration tools and pages to be better than the Windows utility, particularly regarding the target images used.

I’d suggest these choices for Apple calibration: generic monitor profile, native or 2.2 gamma, native white point. Note again that native settings better preserve the capability of the monitor.

This is the image for setting black level (brightness) in Windows. To me, the black “X” seems too bright, which results in a screen that’s too dark.

A paradox exists in calibration in that, the less you do, the better a result you may get. Ironically, you often have to pay for the privilege of doing less in calibration software. Basic programs don’t always allow it.

DisplayCal

Another way you can save money is to buy a basic calibration package and pair the included device with DisplayCal software. In some cases, it’s the complexity of the software that dictates the cost of the calibrator. DisplayCal is one of the best calibration programs, so you’ll gain all the features you need for less money. Be sure to check its compatibility with any device you intend buying.

(DisplayCal is free, though you may wish to contribute towards its upkeep.)

Screenshots from DisplayCal, which pairs with many calibration devices on the market.

Your call

The aim of this article is not to talk you out of buying a calibrator. If you’re just starting out in photography, you needn’t rush into buying one. Equally, if you don’t like color management or can’t get to grips with it, there is less need to gauge monitor output.

Calibration devices aren’t so expensive, but anyone on a budget has my sympathy. Photography isn’t so cheap. I can also understand the desire to keep things simple. If you can identify with any of that, I hope this article has given you some useful low-cost calibration ideas.

The post How to Achieve Monitor Calibration on a Budget appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.

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