Search Results for: color

Released Today: Topaz Clarity Advanced Contrast Adjustment

Posted by PictureCorrect Contributor on May 22, 2013 No comments | 0 views

Topaz’s new tool Clarity is designed to help you create compelling and powerful images by intelligently enhancing contrast and clarity without artifacts or halos. It can manipulate your micro, mid-tone and overall contrast while maintaining the “natural feeling” that is best to keep. Discounted 40% off until the end of the month for the launch sale, simply remember to use the voucher code CLARITYNEW at checkout. Now available here: Topaz Clarity

New: Topaz Clarity (Click to Learn More)

Features introduced in Topaz Clarity:

Selective Contrast Control. With Clarity, we have developed a cutting-edge process of selecting specific contrast variations in your original image, allowing you to quickly target and then increase or decrease the contrast and clarity in that specific variation.
Breakthrough Halo-Free Algorithm. Boost contrast and clarity without emphasizing transitions between light and dark areas, eliminating the common problem of halos, noise and artifacts.
Advanced Hue/Saturation/Luminance Technology. Using IntelliColor technology, you can easily enhance your image with the HSL filter, getting stronger, yet more natural HSL adjustments.
Re-Imagined Masking Workflow. The masking module, now attached to each adjustment tab contains a comprehensive set of tools including an edge-aware brush, gradient mask, smart feather tool, color aware tool and more.
User Interface Design. With Clarity, we have continued to develop a cleaner, more modern and efficient interface to improve usability, workflow and overall aesthetics.

If you’re interested, the launch sale can be found here: Topaz Lab’s New Clarity Tool

Go to full article: Released Today: Topaz Clarity Advanced Contrast Adjustment

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

10 Simple Yet Effective Photography Tips

Posted by PictureCorrect Contributor on May 16, 2013 No comments | 1 views

1. Move closer to your subject. Nothing kills a photo quicker than a distracting background. If you have a great background try bringing the subject closer to the camera so they don’t get lost. Remember this tip if nothing else.

“chit-chat” captured by Raluca Mateescu (Click Image to See More From Raluca Mateescu)

2. Take lots of pictures. Digital photography is cheap and it is good! It is okay to shoot multiple photos with only slight variations…keep and share your best photos. Also you don’t need an expensive camera; I have photos from all over the world hanging on my walls that were taken with a $300 point and shoot.

3. Get creative. It doesn’t take much to enhance a photo. Pictures taken from 5 ½’ above the ground can look repetitious. Think about changing the perspective – get down on one knee or on your stomach if possible. Stand on a chair. Experiment with different lenses if you have them. Experiment with composition.

4. Rent equipment. Professional camera stores are not just for professionals. They have rental departments where anyone can pick up an exotic lens for a day or more. Many that can be used on non-professional cameras. These rental departments are manned by people with lots of photo knowledge and people are generally more than happy to “talk photography” if not too busy at the moment. Don’t be shy.

“The Catcher in the Rye” captured by Arman Zhenikeyev (Click Image to See More From Arman Zhenikeyev)

5. Use the camera’s flash. Especially outside. Your eyes can look at a person in front of a sunset and see their smile but your camera can’t. It is either going to record the colors of the sunset and your subject will be a silhouette or your subject will be visible and the background will be overexposed. Be conscious of shadows on people’s faces – again utilize your flash. If your subject is looking into the sun they are squinting – turn them away from the sun and fill shadows with flash.

6. Think of your camera like a painter’s canvas. Be the artist. Is there a garbage can or other unwanted item in the frame that can be eliminated by simply moving a foot or so to the left or right? Look at the entire frame you are about to capture, not just the one main element you are focusing on. Sure you can fix it in Photoshop but it is better to capture it the way you want to see it.

7. Study Pictures. Pictures you like. Cut them out of your favorite magazines or newspapers. Keep a file on your desk and just take a moment to look at them and tell yourself what you like about them. Bookmark web sites that have photos you like. Go to them often. Develop your eye.

Oh, and move closer to your subject

8. Learn to take a little criticism. All photographers love their own photos. You put your heart and soul into them. You want to show them off. They are pictures of your kids, taken with the camera you always wanted and just bought. How can people not love them? Remember art is subjective. Not everybody is your mom.

9. Get your pictures published. Local newspapers have photography contests, generally centered on a theme: children, pets, travel. If you are in the right place at the right time, CNN might be interested. Don’t forget about the internet. There are always photo contests you can enter online. Publish your own website. There are plenty of free sites that will allow you to build a web site using your photos. They are a great way to share our art and these days you don’t need a degree from MIT to do it.

10. Learn from your mistakes. But don’t be afraid to break rules. Photography is fun and creative. Nobody is going to die if your snapshots are a little off or weird. What might not work one day may be a stroke of genius the next.

And one last time, move closer to your subject.

“Kelso Dunes” captured by David Urban (Click Image to See More From David Urban)

For the amateur photographer, these are ten easy, non-technical tips to help you improve the quality of your photos. While there are many technical aspects of photography, great pictures usually begin with a confident photographer who has learned to master composition before worrying about F-Stops.

About the Author
Andy Templeton is a professional photographer located in Orange County, CA. Andy specializes in editorial, public relations and corporate photography. Find his site at http://atempletonphoto.com to see his photography, access articles on leveraging images to enhance your business or access his photography blog.

Tips for Using Shadows in Photography

Posted by PictureCorrect Contributor on May 13, 2013 No comments | 0 views

Photographers tend to pay a lot of attention to light. In fact, we often think of light as one of the most important aspects of photography. On the other hand, shadows may seem to be less important – simply a lack of light. This would be a major mistake — for light is nothing without shadows.

“Apple Store in 5th ave” captured by Jet Rabe (Click Image to See More From Jet Rabe)

Shadows are not simply a dark mass that borders the light. Rather, shadows are an entity as alive as the light. It is the shadows that shape the light, draw attention to the light, and integrate with the light to produce striking photographic opportunities. If we are to reach our full potential as photographers, we must think as much in terms of mastering the shadows as we do of mastering the light. This article details five uses of shadows in creating dynamic photos.

Contrast and Drama
Focus
Directing the Attention
Revealing Form
Revealing Texture

Contrast and Drama

Photography Tips on Shooting in Parks – The Vantage Points

Parks are one of the major places where a photographer can find many interesting subjects and challenges. But many of us shoot in parks in the same way we shoot in a birthday party. Here’s some of my personal tips that I have learned from jobs and experience that will dramatically improve the results of your park photos.

“Central Park” captured by Jason Lavengood (Click Image to See More From Jason Lavengood)

I. Searching for a subject

Parks are green, well most them are. So the first thing to search for is a non-green contrasting color object. Something that stands out. It can be someone walking their dog, or a tree/bush with unusual color or even an empty chair or structure in the park.

New Photoshop Video Tutorial: Color Splash Effect in CS6

Posted by Pxleyes.com: Photoshop Video Tutorials on May 11, 2013 No comments | 1 views

This video tutorial by IceflowStudios will single out a specific color in your images, leaving the rest black and white in Photoshop CS6.

This method also works in previous versions of Photoshop!

Tips For Photographing Flowers

Posted by PictureCorrect Contributor on May 8, 2013 No comments | 1 views

With the advent of digital cameras and the huge amount of features, close-up photography has become the domain for everyone. The simple macro feature on the current generation of digital compacts has opened up this world to virtually anyone with a camera. Of course the ideal situation is the use of SLRs but is not limited to them.

“The Red Intruder” captured by Francois Novecento Boutiee (Click Image to See More From Boutiee)

One of the first accessories I bought for my film SLR way back in the 1980s was a set of close-up filters that screwed on the end of my lens. This added a new dimension to my photography and I was able to get in really close to my intended subjects, flowers. Although, I did dabble a bit in shooting some of the slower insects and bugs. But flowers were still my focus. Here are some simple tips that will help you shoot better flower photos.

Creating an Edgy, Colorful Fashion Photo-manipulated Artwork

Posted by Vik Aadi on May 8, 2013 No comments | 0 views

In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial, we will learn how to create a beautiful abstract photo manipulation applying some advance techniques of masking, lightning and the use of adjustment layers.

Final Image

Resources

Step 1

Silhouette Photography Tips and Tutorial

Posted by PictureCorrect Contributor on May 7, 2013 No comments | 2 views

Normally every time you take a photo, you want the subject to be as crisp and clear as possible. However, today, we will talk about a technique that hides almost everything from the viewer, leaving it all to the imagination and delivers a stunning effect at the same time.

“Girl and Sunset” captured by Arman Zhenikeyev (Click Image to See More From Arman Zhenikeyev)

Silhouettes are used by artists and professionals to convey drama, emotion in a simple yet striking manner and we are going to give you a quick run down on how you can create magical silhouettes with your camera.

1) Look at your sources of light

Typically, when you take a photo, there are two sources of light, the natural ambient light and the light of your flash.

The first thing you need to do to get a silhouette is force the flash of your camera off. That way, you will heighten the contrast of the subject and ensure that the subject comes out as dark as possible.

The second thing to do is to identify the sources of ambient light. Silhouettes come out best when there is only one source of light ( eg: sunlight ) against which you can place your subject. If there are multiple sources of lights, try to shut down some of them or choose the brightest one for maximum effect.

“Morning Blue” captured by Björn Lexius (Click Image to See More From Björn Lexius)

2) Compose your image

Create a mental picture of what you want to shoot. The magic of silhouettes is all in the shapes you create, so think about whether you want to capture dancers, romantic love scene or something else. This of course depends to some extent on your subject too.

Once you have a mental picture, place your subject in front of the light source and get the shape you want. If you are unsure of what you want, just try out some forms and see what you like. If you are taking the silhouette of a person, try to experiment with the positioning of their hands or features of the face – remember, its a silhouette so you’ve got to express it with the boundary of the object.

3) Fool your camera

Now this is the tricky part. Most cameras today are extremely intelligent, in fact so intelligent that as photographers we need to fool them sometimes to get what we need. To understand this bit, we need to get into metering of the photo.

Metering is the way in which a camera determines how to expose the photo. Remember, a camera can’t see colors, it can only sense the intensity of light – so when you point it to a scene, it sees shades of gray, finds the middle shade in the scene and sets the exposure accordingly.

“People Against the Sun” captured by Jimmy Drougo (Click Image to See More From Jimmy Drougo)

This effectively means that if you are shooting a dark subject, the camera will figure it out and will increase the exposure to compensate. Now that’s not what we wanted, did we? The way out is to point the camera to the brightest patch in the scene and press half the shutter button ( this is when it does metering, so we are making the camera feel that the scene is really bright ) and then move the camera to the desired scene while holding the shutter button half down.

When the desired composition is achieved, press the shutter button completely to capture the photo. Thats pretty much it – you now have a great silhouette shot.

About the author:
Pranav Bhasin is an avid photographer and provides photography learning tutorials on his blog (lifeblob dot com). He also likes to interact and help amateur photographers.

Go to full article: Silhouette Photography Tips and Tutorial

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

Create a Colorful Grunge Portrait in Seconds

Posted by Graffi on May 7, 2013 No comments | 16 views

Create a Colorful Grunge Portrait in Seconds.

Tips for Flower Photography

Posted by Tiffany M on May 6, 2013 No comments | 0 views

You see them everywhere: flowers in full bloom. They are colorful and so easy to photograph. You can use them as art prints, backgrounds for images, Facebook cover images, or just for the joy of capturing the beauty of a flower. There are some tricks that can elevate your images beyond snapshot level, into images that really express a flower’s magic.

If you add only a handful of these approaches to your photography, you will be amazed at the results.

“Untitled” captured by Megan Marcinkus. (Click image to see more from Megan Marcinkus.)

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Search Results for: color

Features introduced in Topaz Clarity:

Contrast and Drama

I. Searching for a subject

Final Image

Resources

Step 1

1) Look at your sources of light

2) Compose your image

3) Fool your camera

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