[Photography] 10 Spring Photography Ideas to Get You Inspired

The post 10 Spring Photography Ideas to Get You Inspired appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

This article was updated in March 2024 with contributions from Simon Bond and Jaymes Dempsey.

Spring is a fantastic time for nearly every type of photography. There are so many amazing subjects and opportunities: outdoor portraits, macro shots of blooming flowers and budding trees, spring landscapes, and baby animals, to name just a few.

That said, if you’re a beginner, or if you’re just feeling a little uninspired after a long winter, you may be struggling to come up with the kind of spring photography ideas that get you excited to head out with your camera. And that’s where this article comes in handy!

I’ve been excited about photographing in spring for as long as I can remember – I often spend the winter dreaming of spring photo opportunities – and below, I share 10 easy-to-follow ideas for some spring photoshoot fun.

You won’t need to travel far to capture great spring photos, by the way. (Many of these ideas can be tackled in your backyard or at a local park!) You don’t need sophisticated gear, either; I offer gear recommendations with each new idea, but you can capture most of these spring pictures with nothing but a cheap camera (or even a smartphone) and some good light.

Ready to enjoy the beauty of spring? Then let’s dive right in!

1. Focus on the finer details

No matter what you photograph, capturing the details is always a good idea – and that’s especially true when creating springtime compositions.

If you like to photograph nature, you can whip out that macro lens and capture some stunning shots of bluebells, daffodils, or cherry blossoms.

(I absolutely love to photograph the spring flowers, starting with the crocuses in late March/early April, followed by the tulips in late April and May! While I do generally like to use a macro lens for this type of photography, it’s possible to get nice close-up shots of larger flowers, like tulips, with a standard 50mm lens or a smartphone camera. And if you can find a field of flowers, you can always have fun with wide-angle compositions that showcase the amazing colors and patterns…)

Petals look great when they’re still on the flower – but you can capture compelling shots once they’ve fallen to the ground, too!

If nature photography isn’t your thing, don’t sweat it! Spring is a great time to get out and about, so if you prefer to photograph in cities or at festivals, you can still look for some nice detail shots.

In particular, aim to photograph:

• Bokeh: Bokeh and detail photos go well together, plus it’s easy to produce beautiful bokeh when shooting close up. Simply widen your lens’s aperture as far as it can go, push your lens to its maximum magnification, then adjust your composition to include colors and/or lights in the background. You can create nice bokeh with any lens, but the effect does work best with macro lenses or prime lenses with a large maximum aperture. And the longer the lens’s focal length, the easier it’ll be to make the bokeh look smooth.
• Patterns: Nature is full of nice patterns, so use this to your advantage. Flowers can repeat, making for a very nice macro shot. Or you can photograph petal patterns on the ground (once the petals have fallen). At spring festivals, produce is often laid out in patterns, which is ideal for photography.
• Backgrounds: Photographers tend to focus on the main subject, but did you know that interesting backgrounds are an essential part of great photos? They’re not hard to create, either. Simply adjust your composition until you get a clean, beautiful background effect – using a wide aperture will help! – and snap away. If you’re not sure how to start, try shooting up at the sky on a clear day for a nice blue background, or aim down toward the grass for a green background.
• Lighting: The best photographers know how to use the light for all sorts of interesting effects, and you can do the same! In fact, a great spring photography idea is to choose a subject, then capture ten images that vary only in their lighting. For instance, if you’re shooting a flower, you can capture light shining through petals, sidelight dramatically illuminating the flower stem, backlight creating an interesting flare effect, and much more.

2. Explore the wider scene in your spring photography

When photographing spring beauties – such as flowers and plants – you may be tempted to get in close and stay there.

But while this will certainly get you some stunning shots, you can also capture beautiful photos by switching to a wide-angle lens and shooting the scene from afar. Flower beds, blossoming trees, and petal-strewn paths can make for some gorgeous landscape shots, after all!

Spring flowers are nice on their own. But if you combine them with an interesting background, as I did here, the result can be spectacular. Note the way the yellows and greens in the foreground complement the oranges and blues of the distant buildings and sky.

By the way, if you’re looking to capture some beautiful spring compositions – especially if you want to include flowers – here are a few recommendations:

• Check the forecast: Here, I’m talking about both the weather forecast and the blossom forecast. The weather forecast will ensure you head out to shoot when the light is good, while the blossom forecast will get you shooting during the peak flower period.
• Composition is king: As with all landscape photography, good composition will get you the best results. Aim to balance your spring shots with compositional techniques such as symmetry, the rule of thirds, and the rule of odds. Also look to incorporate leading lines into your photos for a bit of extra dynamism.
• Add extra context: Remember how I encouraged you to use a wide-angle lens? Go as wide as you can and include some context. For instance, shoot a cherry tree alongside some local architecture, or capture a person walking through a field of petals.

You can create unique photos by juxtaposing standard spring subjects, like cherry trees, with more permanent parts of the landscape, such as buildings.

3. Try freelensing

Freelensing is a creative technique that allows you to adjust your lens’s plane of focus without spending thousands on tilt-shift glass. You can produce all sorts of original results full of breathtaking blur effects.

Here’s how it works:

First, make sure your camera is turned off. Carefully detach your lens from your camera, then position it right in front of the lens mount. (You can hold your lens in your left hand while holding your camera with your right.)

Turn your camera back on, then look through the viewfinder. Slowly tilt the lens back and forth, observing how the area of the scene that’s in focus changes depending on the lens’s position.

When you’re ready to take a photo, just go ahead and press the shutter button!

Freelensing requires a lot of experimentation, and you’ll have a lot of failed photos – but the successes will make it worth it. A few approaches to try:

• Bring the lens closer and farther from the lens mount for different levels of magnification
• Change focal lengths (though 50mm is a good starting point)
• Deliberately leave some room between the camera and the lens to allow for light leaks

Note that you can use freelensing to capture creative shots of many different subjects. Many freelensers focus on flowers and plants – always a good spring photo subject, as I mentioned above – but you can also capture interesting portraits, landscapes, and more!

One caveat: Freelensing will expose your camera’s sensor to the outside world, and it increases the chance that you’ll drop your camera or lens. I’d recommend working with a backup camera and a cheap lens, if possible! (I generally freelens with an old DSLR and my Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, though in all the times I’ve used the techniques, I’ve never actually damaged my equipment; take from that what you will!)

4. Capture some outdoor portraits

Spring is an amazing time for portrait photography. You can find some amazing nature backdrops, plus you can incorporate fun flower themes into your spring photoshoots.

Here are a few easy spring photoshoot ideas:

• Combine the subjects with the trees: Clients love portraits that include beautiful, natural backgrounds. Position your subject(s) in front of trees or flowers, then use a large aperture to blur out the background. Lines of trees can add depth to a photo, while flowers will create stunning spots of backdrop color. For a nice touch, ask your model to hold a flower or two.
• Do candid spring photography: As the weather warms up and people start to get out and enjoy park life, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to photograph individuals enjoying spring. You can capture people walking through flowery fields, people hiking through forests, people enjoying a picnic on the grass, and so much more.
• Grab a selfie: It might not be the most original spring photo idea out there, but everyone needs a new profile picture for spring. So the next time you get the chance, capture a selfie (and make sure that you include a flower or two in the frame!).

Daffodils? Green grass? A person walking through the park? I can practically smell the spring scents looking at this photo; can you?

5. Get experimental

Spring photography is a broad subject, but if you spend a bit of time browsing Instagram, you’ll see that most spring photos are often, well, the same.

I used a longer shutter speed to capture this spring shot. As a result, fast-moving elements (the cars, the people) are blurry, while stationary objects (the grass, the road) are tack-sharp. If you look closely at the trees, you’ll notice that the blossoms aren’t perfectly sharp, either – that’s because they waved slightly in the wind!

Want to shake things up a bit? Break out those experimental techniques, such as intentional camera movement, image compositing, and more. Here are just a few of my favorite ways to get creative during spring:

• Try light trails: Spring foliage often grows by the side of the road. Take a walk at night, bring a tripod, and shoot some car light trail photos. Be sure to include some spring blossoms for context!
• Take a refraction shot: If you haven’t tried crystal ball photography, then you’re missing out! Crystal balls are inexpensive, plus they can create astonishing effects (see the shot below!).
• Deliberately photograph motion blur: Who says blur has to be bad? Head out on a windy day, set your camera on a tripod, and use a slow shutter speed. If you can capture plants and flowers in mid-move, you’ll create some beautifully abstract results!

You can purchase a crystal ball for cheap, then use it for all sorts of interesting spring photos. Just bear in mind that a glass ball will always invert the image – so you can have fun playing around with an upside-down perspective!

6. Don’t forget about spring festivals

Most of the ideas I’ve shared above involve flowers and plants – but there are plenty of great shots to capture at spring festivals and religious holidays, too.

Head out with your camera and a couple of lenses (I recommend a fast prime and a wide-angle zoom). Have fun shooting subjects from a distance (so as to capture the ambiance of the entire event). Then get up close for some candid street shots.

Try to tell a story with your photos. What is happening at the event? What is it about? How do people engage?

Aim to leave with a little mini-series that tells the story of the festival!

7. Capture silhouettes

Spring comes with longer evenings, which means that you have more time to photograph in good light (even if you work long hours during the week!). So why not celebrate the extra spring sun with a fun silhouette photoshoot?

Find a willing subject, then pick a location that includes plenty of open space. You want to make sure that you can compose so that your subject is isolated against the sky; having natural points of elevation (such as boulders) can be a huge help.

Wait until late in the day – when the sun is low in the sky – and position yourself so that the sun is coming from behind your subject. You don’t need to keep the sun in the frame, but ensure that the area behind your subject is extremely bright.

Next, point your lens at the brightest portion of the sky, then use it to set your exposure. The goal is to expose properly for the sky while your subject is dramatically underexposed. It can be helpful to capture a couple of test shots as you refine your exposure (you can always use exposure compensation to brighten or darken the file, or you can switch to Manual mode and adjust your shutter speed).

Finally, set up a careful composition. As I mentioned above, you’ll want an uncluttered backdrop, which is often easy to achieve by getting low to the ground or directing your subject to stand on something, like a rock or a low wall.

And take your shot! If all goes well, you’ll end up with an amazing result, though I’d encourage you to do a bit of post-processing later to bring out the colors of the sky and ensure your subject is plenty dark.

8. Look for wildlife

Spring is full of life, and that includes migrating birds, baby mammals, and more! Spend some time out in your local park or nature preserve, and you’re bound to find an animal or two to photograph. Even if you’re not generally into wildlife photography, spring is a great time to get started; see if you can find an area with relatively tame animals, such as a park with lots of regular walkers.

For the best results, you’ll want to use a telephoto lens. A 55-200mm kit lens is generally long enough for large, tame wildlife (such as geese), though 300mm, 400mm, and beyond is best if you want to capture small songbirds and distant mammals.

That said, you can get great shots by going wider and creating more environmental compositions that include both the animal and the surrounding habitat, so don’t feel like a telephoto lens is absolutely necessary.

(And if you want to photograph birds and you don’t mind putting in a bit of extra work, you can always set up feeders in your backyard along with a makeshift blind. Spend some time sitting in the blind with your lens poking out, and pretty soon, you’ll have birds striking all sorts of interesting poses! I tried this a few years back, and after a few hours in my blind – which was really just a tent – I had hundreds of close-up photos of cardinals, chickadees, finches, and more.)

One quick wildlife photography tip: Patience is often rewarded. Don’t simply walk by a subject, take a few snaps, and continue on your way; instead, if you have the time, wait with your lens trained on the animal until it strikes an interesting pose. This can be tough, especially since there’s never a guarantee that something will happen, but when you do get lucky, the results are often spectacular.

9. Photograph street scenes in the rain

Spring is famous for its rainy days, but instead of staying inside, I encourage you to take advantage of the warmer temperatures and head outside with your camera. Go to the nearest city or town, and see if you can capture some moody, rain-soaked street shots.

Here, a 35mm or a 50mm prime lens is often best, though if all you have is a standard kit lens, that’s okay, too. Look for interesting moments and interactions between people, and make sure you pay careful attention to the overall framing of your scenes. It’s easy to lose track of all the elements in your street compositions, but it’s important that you keep everything well organized even when the world looks chaotic!

If you’re up for a challenge, you might even try heading out at twilight. You’ll need a lens with a wide maximum aperture, but if you’re willing to put in the work, you can capture shots that combine umbrellas, wet reflections, and bokeh!

I will add, however, that spring evenings can get pretty cold, especially when the rain is coming down, so don’t forget to dress appropriately.

And if you’re shooting in anything more than a light drizzle, it’s a good idea to use a raincover for protection. These are basically just little plastic bags that fit around your setup and prevent water from damaging the electronics. After years of shooting in the rain, I always carry a few dedicated raincovers in my camera bag, but if you’d prefer to avoid spending extra money, you can always make your own raincover with a trash bag and a couple of rubber bands. (As an aside, I once made a raincover from two rubber bands and a bagel sleeve! It did a great job of protecting my telephoto lens from the precipitation, though I’ll admit that it looked rather silly…)

10. Have some indoor still-life fun

In some parts of the world, spring – especially early spring – doesn’t look much different from winter. If that’s your experience, see if you can recreate that spring feeling indoors by capturing still-life shots that feature fruit and/or flowers!

Simply head to the store and pick up some pears, apples, cherries, or any other subject you find appealing. Cut flower bouquets can also look great, especially when combined with colorful vases.

Then set up a small studio area in your basement, paying careful attention to the surface you use to display your subjects. (I like to use an old wooden table that I picked up from an estate sale for cheap, but you can use pretty much anything: crates, benches, planks of wood, marble slabs, bricks, even the floor.)

You’ll also want to think carefully about the background here. Plain walls are nice, but you’ll want to ensure the colors don’t clash with your subjects. Another option is to drape something dark behind your setup – I use a large black tablecloth – and go for a low-key look, where the background fades into darkness.

If you own flashes or strobes, you can experiment with different lighting setups, but if you’d prefer to use natural light, that’s okay, too! Just position your still-life setup by a window (some form of side light is generally ideal here, as it’ll give you a more three-dimensional effect).

And make sure you spend plenty of time adjusting your compositional elements. In still-life photography, even a slight change in the subject’s position can dramatically alter the feel of the photo, so the more you can test out different arrangements, the better!

If your spring weather is colder or wetter than you’d like, why not stay inside and have some fun with still-life subjects?

Spring photography ideas: final words

If it’s spring in your part of the world, I hope you found at least a few of these ideas inspiring. I’ll certainly be out and about this spring – photographing the flowers, the landscapes, the outdoor activities, and more. I hope to see you there!

So take a few of these spring photoshoot ideas and have fun! Head out with your camera! Capture some spring photos! And enjoy the warm(ish) weather!

Now over to you:

What spring photoshoots do you plan to do? What do you plan to photograph? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post 10 Spring Photography Ideas to Get You Inspired appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

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[Photography] How to Use HDR Merge in Lightroom: A Step-By-Step Guide

The post How to Use HDR Merge in Lightroom: A Step-By-Step Guide appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Andrew S. Gibson.

HDR techniques are a great way to maintain plenty of detail in both the highlights and shadows of your photos, especially when dealing with high-contrast scenes (e.g., a landscape at sunset).

However, once you’ve captured several bracketed files in the field, you’ll need to merge them in post-processing.

Now, there are a lot of plugins that you can use with Lightroom to create high-quality HDR photos, but the truth is that Lightroom’s own HDR Merge feature does an excellent job. With HDR Merge, you can create HDR files right within Lightroom, and you won’t have to pay for any plugins or extras.

In this article, I’ll explain why I recommend Lightroom’s HDR Merge feature for blending your files, and I’ll share my step-by-step process for getting a great final image (using several of my own HDR landscape photoshoots as examples).

Let’s dive right in!

Advantages to using Lightroom’s built-in HDR Merge feature

If you talk to other photographers who use HDR techniques, you might find that everyone has different software preferences. Some use Photoshop, others swear by Luminar Neo’s HDR Merge extension, and still others rely on dedicated HDR programs like Photomatix Pro.

But while all of the above options can certainly get the job done, there are several advantages to using Lightroom for your HDR conversions:

1. You save money. Most HDR plug-ins are not free, and if you rely on a different editor or a dedicated HDR program for your workflow, you can expect to pay a significant fee. But if you already own a Lightroom subscription, the HDR Merge functionality is built in.
2. Lightroom’s HDR merge creates natural-looking HDR images. Not everybody will see this as an advantage, but Lightroom does a great job of avoiding garish, over-saturated HDR photos.
3. You don’t need a lot of bracketed images. In my experience, two are enough for a good result: one exposed at -2 stops, the other at +2 stops. (You can use more bracketed files if you want, and this is probably a good idea if you have a really contrasty scene – but in general, two should work well.)
4. The final HDR image is saved as a DNG file. Not only is a DNG file smaller than a TIFF file, but you can process it in Lightroom the same way you process any other DNG or RAW file. The main difference is that the Exposure slider runs from -10 to + 10 stops, rather than the normal -4 to +4. There is also much more information in the file for Lightroom to work with when you make adjustments with the Shadows and Highlights sliders (as well as when applying targeted adjustments using Lightroom’s masking tools).
5. You can take bracketed sequences hand-held, and Lightroom will align them automatically. Lightroom’s Auto Align option lets you work with several bracketed photos that don’t feature identical framing. Having said that, I’ve found the best results do come from bracketed photos captured with a tripod-mounted camera!

How to combine bracketed photos using HDR Merge in Lightroom

Working with Lightroom’s built-in HDR tool is extremely easy – so even if you’re not an experienced photo editor, you shouldn’t run into any problems! Just follow these instructions:

Start in Grid View in the Library module, and select the images you want to merge. Alternatively, you can select the images in the Develop module Filmstrip.

Right-click on your selected images, then select Photo Merge>HDR. (You can also choose Photo>Photo Merge>HDR in the main menu.)

Once you’ve selected your bracketed files, opening the HDR dialog is easy.

The HDR Merge Preview window should open, and you’ll see Lightroom’s preview of the HDR image. Note that it may take some time for the preview to load, especially if you’ve selected a lot of images for merging.

You may be surprised to see that there aren’t many settings to adjust. This is deliberate – the aim is to let Lightroom produce a natural-looking HDR image, which you can then process in the Develop module to achieve your desired look. But you do have a few options:

The Auto Align and Auto Settings boxes will be ticked by default, and the Deghost Amount will be set to None. (If you change the settings, Lightroom remembers your last inputs, so always make sure you’re using the right settings before continuing!)

What do these HDR Merge settings do?

Auto Align is useful if the camera moved between exposures, which generally happens when handholding. If this box is checked, Lightroom will work to line up your different images so the blended file looks natural.

And Auto Settings performs a similar function to the Auto settings in the Basic Panel of the Develop module.

I find HDR Merge works best with the Auto Align and Auto Settings boxes ticked (see below). There’s also the option to change the Deghost Amount – here, the goal is to prevent any artifacts (such as lines or blur) caused by subject movement between frames. If your scene was completely still, just leave the setting at None; however, if there was movement from shot to shot, such as a tree waving in the wind or a person trotting across the landscape, you can set the Deghost Amount to Low, Medium, or High.

You can’t zoom in to 100% in the HDR Merge Preview window, so you may only become aware of ghosting once you move on to the Develop module and zoom in to 1:1. If you notice ghosting at that stage, you can always go back and reprocess the images. And you can tick the Show Deghost Overlay box to reveal the areas where Lightroom has detected ghosting.

(How do you know which Deghost Amount is best? Honestly, you’ll just need to use trial and error – it’s different for each set of images.)

One of my landscape images in the HDR Merge dialog box. Note that more recent versions of Lightroom will display “Auto Settings” instead of “Auto Tone,” but the effect is the same!

Once you’re done tweaking the settings, go ahead and click the Merge button at the bottom. Lightroom will save the merged image as a DNG file with the suffix -HDR appended to the file name. It’ll also take you back to the module where you started. From there, you can edit the image as normal in the Develop module.

This is the result of my HDR merge. I used two photos, bracketed one stop apart. That’s not a lot of bracketing, but it was a cloudy day and what I wanted was a photo that captured detail in both the landscape and the sky. On a sunny day, the light is higher contrast, so you generally need to use images bracketed further apart.

My merged HDR image!

You’ve merged your images – what now?

Your HDR file should be treated as a starting point in your processing. It’s a new RAW file that you can then edit in the Develop module to achieve the desired effect. 

In my case, I thought the merged photo was too light, so I darkened it in the Develop module. I also made some tonal adjustments and increased the Clarity. Here’s the same image, but after those edits have been applied:

I started by merging my bracketed files. I then added some tonal adjustments and boosted the Clarity. This is the result.

The screenshot below shows a comparison between the HDR image (right) and the same photo taken without any exposure compensation (left). As you can see, merging two exposures has allowed me to capture the details in the gray clouds.

Note: If after merging your files, you think the image has too much of an HDR feel, you can use the Basic Panel sliders or local adjustments to alter the tonal values. For example, you can increase Shadows or the Blacks setting to add contrast, so you don’t have the “unnatural detail in every shadow” effect typical of overdone HDR.

Here’s another example, this time with photos taken in the sun that have a much greater brightness range. The two photos were taken at +1 and -1 stops, respectively:

This is the result that Lightroom gave after the HDR merge process:

And this is how it looks after editing in the Develop module:

The differences are subtle; I just made the image a little darker and moved the Highlights slider to zero to bring out as much detail in the clouds as possible.

High-contrast examples

So far, I’ve shown you how Lightroom’s HDR Merge handles files that encompass moderate tonal ranges. But what if the scene has a huge tonal range, forcing you to created three or more bracketed images?

This next example involves three photos with a total of seven stops difference in exposure. You probably won’t need to make the exposure differences that drastic in your everyday shooting, but it’s always interesting to try.

Here’s the result:

The water looks different in each version of the photo, so I set the Deghost Amount to High. Note that the deghosted area (shown in red below) covers all of the water – when I compare the three original images, I can see that Lightroom has used the water from the first photo in the sequence, avoiding the ghosting that would be caused by merging three photos with a different level of water in each shot.

Let me share one more example sequence, just so you can see how Lightroom handles another high-contrast scene. First, we have four separate images covering a wide tonal range:

Here’s an extreme contrast example. I created four images covering a total of five stops bracketed to keep details in the buildings outside and to capture some detail inside.

And here’s the final shot after applying HDR Merge and doing a bit of editing:

The final version!

Can’t find your new HDR file?

If you’re not sure where to find the newly created HDR file, set Sort to File Name in the Grid View, and it will appear next to the first image in the sequence (but make sure you are in the folder of originals, not inside a collection).

Final notes

It’s best to carry out the HDR Merge process with files that haven’t yet been edited in the Develop module, as Lightroom only retains some of your adjusted settings in the final file.

These are taken from one of your images and applied to the HDR file. They are listed below (all other settings are returned to their default):

• Presence sliders
• The Color Mixer panel
• The Color Grading panel
• The Detail panel
• The Lens Corrections panel

Lightroom also requires access to the original photo files. It can’t create an HDR image from Smart Previews alone.

Create some amazing HDR photos with Lightroom!

Hopefully, you can now see just how powerful HDR Merge is – and why you don’t need to spend extra money on a dedicated HDR program.

The best way to get familiar with HDR Merge is to head into Lightroom and play around. Run a few merges using the process I shared above, and when you’re done, do a bit of editing to get the best possible results.

Now over to you:

Have you tried Lightroom’s HDR merge tool? If so, what do you think? Is it a worthwhile addition to Lightroom’s toolkit, or do you prefer a different solution? Please let us know in the comments below.

The post How to Use HDR Merge in Lightroom: A Step-By-Step Guide appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Andrew S. Gibson.

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[Photography] Is Shooting RAW+JPEG the Best of Both Worlds?

The post Is Shooting RAW+JPEG the Best of Both Worlds? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jim Hamel.

For years, photographers have debated whether to shoot in RAW or JPEG. (Well, maybe “debate” is the wrong word. Usually, it’s a matter of more experienced photographers encouraging beginners to start shooting in RAW and stop shooting in JPEG.)

There isn’t much question that RAW files are technically superior. They come with plenty of benefits: greater dynamic range, more color information, and an adjustable white balance, to name just three.

However, these benefits can only really be appreciated when post-processing files. So for photographers who don’t wish to edit their files, the advantages of RAW photography don’t really apply, and certain RAW drawbacks – such as the need to process each file before it can be shared or printed – don’t seem worth it.

Usually, this RAW vs JPEG question gets presented as an either/or proposition. You’re told that you have to decide to shoot in RAW or in JPEG, looking at the pros and cons of both file formats.

But if you could have the advantages of both formats, wouldn’t that be the way to go? Wouldn’t you want the editing flexibility of RAW files, combined with the instant shareability of JPEGs? Is that even possible?

It is, in fact!

Take a look at your camera’s Quality or Image Quality setting in the menu. Most cameras will allow you to put that setting on both RAW and JPEG. This is known as RAW+JPEG shooting, where your camera captures a RAW file and a JPEG file each time you press the shutter button. In using RAW+JPEG, aren’t you getting the best of both worlds?

RAW+JPEG settings on Canon system.

Let’s take a look. But first, let’s review the advantages of RAW files versus JPEGs.

JPEGs

When you take a picture, your camera is actually taking the data that it receives from the image sensor and creating a file. In the early days of digital, a group of experts got together and agreed on a file format everyone could use. It is called “JPEG,” and it stands for “Joint Photographic Experts Group.”

The idea is that everyone could use the same format, and thus it would be easy to share. And you know what? It worked out pretty well. JPEGs are more or less ubiquitous. If you pick up your camera and start shooting, you’ll generally be creating JPEGs. It is the default of virtually every dedicated camera. And because internet browser developers consistently built JPEG support into their software, it is also the format of virtually every picture you see online.

But when your camera creates a JPEG, a few things happen. The first is that the camera compresses the picture data so the file size is smaller. A JPEG will only use about a quarter of the data that your camera captures, and as a result, a large chunk of data is discarded. Some of that is color data, which is done by reducing the number of available colors (there are still a lot of colors available in JPEGs, though). Where you’ll see the biggest impact is in the highlights and shadows, where some detail may be lost.

In addition, when a JPEG is created, your camera will add some processing to the picture. The camera manufacturers know that you want your pictures coming out of the camera looking sharp and colorful. Therefore, they add some effects – like sharpness, contrast, and saturation – as the JPEG file is rendered. The benefit is that your pictures generally do look a little better, but the downside is that you aren’t in control of the process, and sometimes your camera’s processing doesn’t match what you’re after.

The file on the left is an original RAW. To make it displayable to your browser, I had to convert it to JPEG – but I didn’t apply any edits. The file on the right is a straight-out-of-camera JPEG. Note that it’s slightly crisper, and the colors are subtly warmer and more saturated.

And that brings us to RAW files.

The RAW advantage

In most cameras, you can go into the menu and change the file format to “RAW.” No, there isn’t really some sort of universal file format called RAW. Rather, each camera has its own way of bundling the data that it receives from the image sensor when you take the picture to create its own proprietary file (NEF for Nikon, CRW or CR2 for Canon, RAF for Fuji, etc.). The resulting file is called “RAW.”

You might already perceive an issue here: Since RAW files aren’t the same format, they aren’t easily shareable. In addition, RAW files are huge, typically 3-4 times the size of JPEGs.

So why does nearly everyone recommend shooting RAW, then? Because they contain more information. Remember how JPEGs discard data to create smaller files? RAW files preserve all of that data. That means you keep all the color data, and you preserve everything you can in the way of highlight and shadow detail.

In addition, whereas the camera adds processing when it creates JPEGs, that doesn’t happen when you create RAW files. That means you are in control of the process. You can add any level of sharpness, contrast, saturation, etc., that you want (assuming you have access to a RAW processing program, of course). The camera isn’t making those decisions for you.

Sure, RAW files are bigger, but they are way better. And you can always create a JPEG from your RAW file later, which you can use to share your photo online once you’ve finished editing.

The RAW+JPEG setting on a Sony camera.

Shooting both RAWs and JPEGs

So RAW files are the way to go, right? You’re preserving all that color data, not to mention the highlight and shadow detail. And you are in full control of the processing of your picture. That’s got to be worth it, right?

Generally, that’s true: RAW files are worth creating. But what about if you are not going to process your photos at all? Wouldn’t it make sense to then shoot in JPEG, since it is the file that looks best coming out of the camera? Or what if you need to share the photo right away, and you don’t have time to do any editing?

That’s why I encourage you to shoot both RAW and JPEG files! Your camera will likely have a setting allowing you to do both – so that every time you take a picture, the camera creates a RAW file and a JPEG. That would allow you to have all the advantages of both file types.

How might that benefit you? Here are the advantages to RAW+JPEG shooting:

• You have a JPEG to use immediately. Let’s say you have wi-fi in your camera or want to quickly transfer your images to your computer and share the photo immediately. JPEGs make sense for this. RAW files don’t. They aren’t easily shareable, and they don’t look the best coming out of the camera, anyway.
• It future-proofs the photo. What if you are creating RAW files with your Canon camera, but in 10 years, Canon goes out of business? Will your RAW files lose support over time? This seems unlikely, but it is enough of an issue that Adobe has been pushing its own cross-platform solution called DNG (digital negative). If you have a JPEG, this is much less likely to be an issue. While some cameras now offer the option to shoot in the HEIC format (which is similar to a JPEG but superior in terms of image quality), JPEGs are still far more popular and much better supported.
• You can see how the camera processes the files. If you have a JPEG sitting next to your RAW file on your computer, you can see how your camera decided to process your photo. In other words, you can see how much sharpening, contrast, and saturation was added and, if you like it, mimic that effect when you do your own processing. This can be helpful when you are just starting out and trying to decide how much processing to add to your photos.
• You get an accurate LCD preview. When you look at a photo on your LCD, you see the JPEG version of the shot, even if you’re actually photographing in RAW. You can add different processing effects via the Pictures Styles, including B&W, and you’ll see these regardless – but if you’re shooting in RAW, these effects will disappear when you import your files into a program such as Lightroom or Capture One. However, if you shoot both RAW and JPEG, your camera will produce JPEGs with the effects added, as well as RAWs without the effects. So if you want to see the effects while maintaining the integrity of the RAW file, then capturing both can be beneficial.

Why not shoot only RAW?

But wait a second, you might think. Surely these JPEG advantages are fairly minor, especially if you plan to edit your images regardless. Why bother with all that? Why not just shoot in RAW?

Yes, the JPEG advantages are minor, but at the same time, what is the cost? Virtually nothing. Over time, data has gotten cheaper and cheaper. Adding a JPEG costs virtually nothing. Memory cards these days hold hundreds or even thousands of pictures, and they are now pretty cheap. You can now get a 64 GB card for about $35. You can get hard drives that store terabytes of data for under $200. These prices continue to drop. Compared to RAW files, JPEGs take up a tiny amount of space. So while I agree that adding the JPEG doesn’t have a huge benefit for most shooters, it also doesn’t have much of a downside.

There is one other aspect I haven’t mentioned, however, and that is speed. Remember that your camera has to write all the data to your card. If you are taking a few pictures at a time (or one at a time), this will not be a factor. But if you are shooting sports or wildlife with a serious need for maximum frames per second, then there will be an additional cost. The time to write the additional file will slow you down a little bit. In that context, I could definitely imagine foregoing the extra file and choosing to only shoot in RAW. But for most of us, this won’t apply.

RAW files may not look quite as nice straight out of the camera, but after a bit of editing, they can look even better than JPEGs.

Why not shoot only JPEG?

At the same time, there are some photographers who will think to themselves, “Well, I don’t process my pictures, so I might as well just shoot JPEGs to get the best-looking file I can straight out of the camera.”

To those who don’t process their pictures, I would first say, “You definitely should do some processing!” You don’t need to make dramatic changes or make your images look surreal, but you can do wonders with some little tweaks.

In any case, just because you don’t do any processing of your pictures now doesn’t mean you won’t ever process your pictures. In a year or two, you might change your mind. When that happens, you don’t want to be kicking yourself for not having obtained the best files possible. No, you don’t need to shoot only in RAW – that would be inconvenient for someone who doesn’t plan to edit – but RAW+JPEG is an ideal approach.

RAW+JPEG is the best of both worlds!

I have been shooting RAW+JPEG for several years now. Do I actually use the JPEGs? Almost never. I always edit the RAW files and usually don’t touch the JPEGs.

As mentioned, however, the JPEGs don’t cost me anything, so I am sticking with this setting. Plus, there have been a few times when I was on the road and wanted to send photos straight from my camera, so having the JPEG on hand did turn out to be useful.

That’s how it works for me. But the decision on the type of files you want to create is up to you. So what do you think? Is shooting RAW+JPEG the best of both worlds? Or is it a waste of space? Let me know in the comments below!

The post Is Shooting RAW+JPEG the Best of Both Worlds? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jim Hamel.

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[Photography] How to Make a DIY Ground Pod (for Low-Angle Wildlife Photos)

The post How to Make a DIY Ground Pod (for Low-Angle Wildlife Photos) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Elliot Hook.

To capture stunning wildlife photos, you must adjust your angle until you’re shooting at the animal’s eye level. (Yes, there are a few exceptions – such as when you’re capturing environmental scenes that include wildlife – but generally speaking, eye-level photos are best.)

When an animal is close to the ground, however, shooting at eye level can be tricky. If you’ve ever gotten down low to photograph a bird or small mammal from the dirt, you’ll know what I mean: It’s awkward to support yourself, your camera, and your telephoto lens – while also trying to keep your gear from getting dirty or wet.

One solution is to use a tripod. Most tripods allow you to get quite low by opening the legs out as wide as possible, and some actually open out fully so that the tripod sits flush to the ground. But while this setup will get the job done, it can be pretty awkward to handle, especially if you’re trying to pan with your subject or if you have to follow your subject around.

That’s where a ground pod comes in. It’s flexible, it’s effective, and it’s easy to make at home. Sure, you can purchase dedicated ground pods from camera manufacturers, but there’s not any real need; I use a DIY ground pod that I created using household materials, and it cost me far less than I would pay for a ground pod from B&H.

In this article, I share my step-by-step process for creating a DIY ground pod – so that with a few dollars and a little bit of effort, you can capture low-angle wildlife photography without worrying about your gear.

What is a ground pod?

A ground pod is a plate/tray with upturned edges that keeps your camera both stable and mobile when you’re shooting in the dirt, mud, or sand.

You can attach your camera to the center of the pod, or – for more flexibility – you can screw your tripod head onto the ground pod, then attach your camera to the head. It’ll support your camera just a few inches from the ground, thus offering some protection from water splashes or sand/mud while also allowing easy movement in all directions.

My completed ground pod. I’ve used a tripod ball head to mound my camera to the frying pan. That way, my lens is at the eye level of the birds, and I can easily move the pod along the beach without worrying so much about sand getting in the camera or lens components.

Now, the benefit of a ground pod is that it lets you capture low-angle photos of wildlife without getting the bottom of your camera or lens covered in grime. But as the photographer, you’ll still get plenty dirty! The pod won’t protect you from the muck, only your camera setup; that’s part of the fun of wildlife photography!

This is the kind of image that’s far easier to create with a ground pod – you can get that beautiful low-angle perspective without getting your camera or lens all sandy.
(Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash)

Creating a DIY ground pod: my process

I wanted a ground pod that would allow me to capture low-angle wildlife shots, but when I looked for commercially available options, I was disappointed to see that they cost around $100 USD. Therefore, I decided to make my own!

I’m certainly not the first person to do this, but I wanted to share how it is done to illustrate how easy it is to make your own low-level camera support.

The materials

As I said above, materials for a DIY ground pod shouldn’t cost you much at all. You will need:

1. A cheap frying pan, approx 10-12 inches in diameter. You can choose whatever diameter frying pan suits you, but a wider pan will offer more support, especially if you use a bulkier telephoto lens. The pan should be approximately 1-1.5 inches deep – any deeper will make adjusting your tripod head more awkward, but any shallower will offer less protection from water splashes, mud, and sand.
2. A 3/8” socket head bolt, approx 0.5 inches in length. A round-headed or truss-headed bolt is preferable. If the pan is thick enough, a countersunk head is ideal; however cheap pans are normally too thin to make this practical. Note: Imperial-sized bolts are difficult to come by in some international hardware stores, so if you’re located outside the US, this might involve some internet searching.
3. A tripod head. This is technically optional. You can attach your camera directly to the ground pod, but it’ll limit your shooting motions, and you may also run into issues when trying to ensure your lens clears the pad lip. Therefore, I like to use a tripod head (and I’m writing this article with the use of a tripod head in mind). If you don’t already have a tripod head, a cheap ball head can be found on eBay and will be a good compromise between size and flexibility. You don’t want anything too tall (it’ll defeat the point of trying to get so low), and you also don’t want anything with ultra-wide levers (it’ll be an awkward fit inside the pan). If you don’t have a tripod head to use and you don’t want to buy one, you could try using a couple of blocks of wood to act as a riser to ensure the lens clears the edge of the pan). I’ll also point out that the price for commercially available ball heads that I mentioned above (around $100) does not include a tripod head, so even if you choose to go the non-DIY route, you’ll still need to source a head.
4. A power drill to make a hole large enough for the 3/8” bolt.
5. A hex key/Allen key of the same size as the socket in the hex bolt.
6. A wing nut to screw onto the bolt when the pan is not in use so you do not lose the bolt.  Any kind of nut will work, but a wing nut is large enough to be difficult to lose and easy to use with cold hands!

Making the ground pod

Left: My frying pan with the handle removed, showing the riveted bracket. Right: A 3/8″ hex bolt.

The construction of the pod is very simple:

1. First, remove the handle from the frying pan. It should be easy to unscrew from the pan, and removing it will make the pan a less awkward shape to store. You may well be left with a small, riveted bracket that the handle was screwed to (see my image above!); however, this is a convenient little place to hook the frying pan onto your camera bag using a carabiner so you don’t have to carry it around by hand.
2. Next, turn the pan upside down, and use the power drill to make a hole in the pan’s center.  Don’t apply too much downward force when drilling; otherwise, you’ll end up deforming the center of the pan, meaning your tripod head will not fit flush to the pan base.
3. Once the hole is drilled, turn the pan back around, and use the hex key to screw the bolt through the pan and into your tripod head.

And that is it!  Simple.

Just make sure that the pan actually supports your camera and lens without toppling over before putting it to use. If you chose a wide enough pan, this should not be a problem, but test your camera with all your wildlife photography lenses to be safe.

Capture some low-angle wildlife photos!

Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash

Well, there you have it! When on a beach, in a field, or shooting in snow, you will find that using a ground pod for support makes getting down low a lot easier, and it’ll let you worry less about your camera gear remaining free from sand, mud, and water.

The pan is also far lighter than most tripods – meaning you can carry less weight when out on your next wildlife shoot.

If you already own a suitable tripod head, this project shouldn’t cost much more than the price of a cheap frying pan, and it’s a great way of supporting your camera at ground level for those powerful and intimate wildlife portraits.

(Thanks to Rob Cain for taking the picture of my gear on the completed ground pod, above!)

If you have any tips for creating a ground pod, or any advice for using one successfully, share them in the comments below!

The post How to Make a DIY Ground Pod (for Low-Angle Wildlife Photos) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Elliot Hook.

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