If you haven't spent any time on Phlearn.com then you are missing out on some amazing post production tutorials. Phlearn founder Aaron Nace has teamed up with Fstoppers for our first ever Fstoppers Workshops! During May 28 - June 1st, Aaron will be teaching a 2 day workshop in the Bahamas where you and 7 other students will plan and execute your "dream photoshoot".
Much to my dismay, I've recently discovered that many photographers are unaware of the power of selective coloring. With its versatility, I'm convinced it's one of the most powerful tools for photographers today. It sounds insane, but I've used selective coloring for the majority of my photos over the last few years, and have left largely everyone impressed with my techniques. And no, I'm not trolling you.
By now, we’ve all seen the gigapixel landscape shots over the years, but I’m pretty sure never seen anything like the 900 gigapixel portrait series Swiss photographer Daniel Borschung has undertaken. I’m not much of a numbers guy, but when you have a robot arm taking 600 pictures of your subject with a macro lens, the results are a tiny bit mind blowing.
What happens when you combine a GoPro Hero +3, a DJI Phantom II, an actor dressed as Superman, and some clever video editing? How about one awesome simulation of what it must be like to be Superman as he flies through Los Angeles. If you were upset with our recent Phantom 2 Gopro height test last week, you are definitely not going to want to watch this video. Be sure to check out Sam and Niko's behind the scenes video
About 5 years ago, when I was still in my Photography college in Australia, our teachers would regularly introduce us to the new and noteworthy Australian photographers' and digital artists' work. Among others there was one artist, whose work really grabbed my attention and I have been watching her growth and success ever since.
When retouching in Photoshop, there are many different ways to achieve the same thing. Personally, I've always struggled to find the best method to remove shadows under the eyes. Like everything else in Photoshop, there are a slew of methods to correct this, but each of them had their weaknesses. Check out this simple - yet slightly hidden - method that you probably never knew existed.
There is an old quote that says, “If you want to shoot fashion, shoot in color, but if you want to shoot emotion, shoot in black and white.” I don’t know who said it, but I tend to agree. I do love myself a good black and white portrait. There is something special about black and white imagery which has the ability to cut through all the baggage and display both the inner beauty and turmoil which can be so easily hidden away by color photography.
Red Giant, the plugin supergroup that is responsible for filter packs like Magic Bullet Looks, Trapcode, and PluralEyes, has recently announced a new plugin model, Universe, where new and updated filters will be provided to members at low to no cost. If you're a motion graphics designer, or love sweetening your video edits with funky filters, check out the video and see if Universe is for you.
This video was incredible! Ten By Fotolia brought two talents together and gave us an all access pass at their creation. Eric Paré is a Montreal based creative photographer who is a master at light painting. Mike Campau is a brilliant digital artist who is skilled in retouching, image design, and CGI. Together, they bring us a great video filled with lots of information that everyone can take away from.
The guys at no film school have done it again. In a recent guest post by the awesome director, Rubidium Wu they show you how to make a cheap DIY multi-camera video rig. The cool thing about this setup is that you can shoot multiple focal lengths in one take giving a similar ascetic to Tommy Wiseau’s in his 2005 film, The Room.
The thought of removing stray hairs in Photoshop conjures up thoughts that are equivalent to torture. It's not uncommon to hear your fellow colleagues gripe about retouching hair. However,
Michael Woloszynowicz has come to the rescue. He is becoming one of our favorites here at Fstoppers when it comes to Photoshop tutorials. Check out this efficient way in tackling stray hairs!
Talk to a photographer long enough and the question of screen calibration will be brought up. Often many will say it's an incredibly important tool in your post production workflow, and often many more disregard it all together. So what is screen calibration? Is it still a viable issue within photography today, or is it becoming more and more obsolete, like sync cables and light meters? I'm here to explain it to you.
Months of planning, 567 images stitched into a single panorama and a 14.6 gigabyte image results in a breathtaking view of New York City from the top of the Freedom Tower. Deemed as one the tallest skyscrapers in the US, the new Freedom Tower is about one year out from completion.
The first time I saw a levitation shot, I stared at it for 15 minutes in astonishment. I could not conceive how the image was captured; I was captivated by the story it conveyed, it was surreal, magical and awe-inspiring. Conceptualizing the image and executing it can prove to be rather difficult and meticulous. Thankfully, photographers who have mastered the techniques involved in levitating have decided to share their secrets with us.
Michael Woloszynowicz is a great photographer and retoucher. Not only that, but he is a great instructor. His videos always provide clear and detailed instructions on techniques many of us want to know. Recently, Michael released this video regarding the issue of color casts on models. Although Photoshop offers many tools to get close, this method is a truly a brilliant way of thinking.
Adobe Photoshop can be a really daunting program. Do you remember the first time you opened it up? Much like anything else, it takes time to get good at it. Even with what you know now, you still realize there is a lot left to learn. The Internet provides such a valuable resource in learning the program. Here is a list of the best resources to learn Photoshop!
Knowing the importance of color matching strobes indoors is crucial when combining strobes and ambient lighting. Fixing mismatched lighting temperatures can be extremely difficult in post process. Ian Christmann, a commercial and lifestyle photographer discovered a method which will change your life.
As a retoucher, an issue I have to fix at times is light falloff that occurs in studio. This can happen when the light modifier used isn't ample in covering the model fully. Thankfully, there is an easy fix that allows you to correct this problem. Prior to, it was a little more difficult without being able to harness the power of the raw file to fix it naturally. Once you get used to the process, you can use this technique to correct other exposure issues as well.
The folks over at creativeLIVE are broadcasting an entire week of photoshop classes. Classes kicked off Monday, February 24 and will continue to stream LIVE for free until Friday, February 28th. This week covers a broad spectrum of things available to photographers in Lightroom and Photoshop such as workflow, digital file management, local and global adjustments, photo restoration, selections, and my personal favorite, advanced beauty retouching.
Late last year I wrote an article entitled “Why I Sold My RED and Downgraded to a C100.” The article, as you can imagine, was met with a bit of hostility. In short, Filmmakers and Red-users couldn’t seem to understand how I could give up the cinematic image capabilities of my RED Scarlet and settle for an entry level Canon Cinema camera.
The night sky is an astounding phenomenon that fascinates almost every individual. Stars have been around for thousands of years and yet, humankind is still mesmerized by their beauty. Despite the distance, we have such a strong connection and love for these great unknown entities. Capturing the magnificence of the night sky is highly rewarding and can be an exciting process as well.
A few weeks back, I posted a full behind the scenes blog about my Robocop photoshoot. I had such a fun time with the shoot and final images that I figured others may enjoy playing with my Phase One MF raw files as well. I posted a contest on my personal photography blog that challenged people to re-interpret Robocop using up to 8 of my supplied Phase One RAW files. There was hundreds of entries from across the globe a handful of star-studded judges to review the entries.
Before starting in the world of retouching, I always wanted to know more about it. Now that I'm working full time as a retoucher, I am happy to give back when I can. Julia Kuzmenko McKim of the Retouching Academy reached out to me to speak with her on retouching, inspiration, and business. If you aren't familiar with her already, she's also a staff writer here.
Few months back we featured the incredible and unique rock climbing photos of Seattle-based photographer Kiliii Fish. This week Kiliii finished his newest photo series he worked on for a long time - this time survival was the theme. The results? Nothing short of epic. In this interview he explains the whole process and reveals how he shot and edited it all.
I’ve just watched one of the best fashion shorts I’ve seen in months. It combines gorgeous color, cinematography, camera movement and Hitchcock-styled, film noir sensibility beautifully. Interestingly, after speaking to one of the directors, regardless of budget or what we’re shooting, there are real gems to be gleaned from their experiences. Read on for the full scoop.
Flawless models and perfect-looking celebrities are all around us. We see their perfect bodies on magazine covers and their smooth skin on ads and billboards. Girls today grow up having a distorted view on what 'Beauty' really is, and many of them aspire to look like the photoshopped version of the famous people they love - flawless and perfect. Check out this video of 'real' women react to being photoshopped into cover girls with flawless bodies and perfect skin, the way they always wanted to look like.
Setting aside the runny noses, forget the frozen fingers and the frostbitten toes, and the winter season can lend itself to some pretty magical photos. Personally, and I’m sure many of you will agree, it’s hard to find a willing subject and convince myself to drag my gear out when there is a blizzard. The truth is, if I could create a life-sized snow globe studio with central heating, I’d be a happy man. Well, I found an alternate solution.
Compositing is no beginner’s tactic. Before you dive in, provide time for the proper research and learn the skill set to prior to the job. Like many photographers in the game, initially I had serious trouble with lighting groups of 3 or more. There was always a face with a hard shadow or one more exposed than another.
Aside from techniques, I have noticed that there isn’t much information out there on retouching and the industry. I have been asked great questions over time that I thought people would love to know the answer to. Accordingly, I wanted to make a series to showcase them for the purpose of education and knowledge.
You probably know that getting your uploads to look sharp on screen, in print and on social media goes beyond resizing. Now, resizing is incredibly important in order to retain the optimum quality for sites such as Facebook, but there is an element far deeper than that and it is not often discussed. This is the secret to getting your images looking “sharper” no matter the medium.
One of the most complex areas about retouching beauty shots is definitely fixing hair. If you see any editorial or advertisement that has perfect hair, you can be rest assured that there was some retouching involved. Although this isn't the only way to retouch hair, the guys at FX-Ray put together a good video showcasing some tips and tricks. There are definitely many methods of doing it, but this should come in handy for the common trouble areas.
Like many photographers, I’m always trying to polish my craft and grow my talents when it comes to both photography and retouching. Tutorials are plentiful on the internet, and sometimes overwhelming with the millions of videos, articles and PSDs. However, I found an unique way to improve my retouching considerably, from an unusual place that I'd never expect.
As a retoucher, I spend most of my day molded into a chair and working in front of the screen. It was only after a couple of years that I began realizing the strain it took on me. Being much younger, it wasn't as much of an issue as it was when I started getting older. I immediately began finding ways to make my time behind the screen more comfortable and healthy. As fellow creatives, I am sure most of you also have the same issue. I reached out to my colleagues for advice and here are some suggestions I found.
Yes, you read that right. This is indeed a short tutorial on color grading video in Photoshop. Unconventional? Yes, but it is effective. Not too long ago I was having a conversation with the other Fstoppers writers when the conversation of quickly color correcting video footage came up. Without the hassle of Premiere, Speed Grade or any other grading software, was there a simple way to make adjustments that were easy and intuitive? I believe the answer is Photoshop.
Sometimes tattoos can add a lot to the character and the general feeling of your images. The problem is most models you'll work with wont have any tattoos, or won't have the type of tattoo you would like to have in the image. In this 15 minute video tutorial you can learn how to add any tattoo to your subject in Photoshop, and make it look real. The techniques used in this tutorial are very useful for many other uses, so if tattoos are not your thing, it's still a great video to learn from.
Often when we are editing in Lightroom we find ourselves doing the same tasks over and over again. The key to speeding up your workflow is finding ways to minimize the amount of steps it takes to do these regular tasks and fortunately Lightroom gives us many options to do this. One of my favorites is the 'Export Presets.'
Few months back we featured a great video showing how Joe Fellows creates his stunning parallax videos. After posting the article, many of you had follow-up questions on his techniques and methods, so he decided to release a 'part 2' video explaining some of the cool tricks he uses to transform a 2D photo into a 2.5D video.
Retouching jewelry is an extremely time intensive task, especially when it is done correctly. It can involved hours of work to fix the most minute details. When it's done right, it looks effortless and this time-lapse video is no exception. The balance of artistry and technicality makes the final image what it is.
When going through hundreds of photos, workflow processing can be a real pain. Tools like Lightroom can help speed up the process, but nothing can compare to the Adobe Photoshop. Here are a few tips that can help you speed up your workflow process considerably.
I’m always intrigued by those photographers who shoot self portraits, particularly when they bring something new to the mix. Chino Otsuka used her camera and some skillful Photoshop work to not only carry out a self portrait series, but to transport herself back in time, into photographs featuring her younger self - sometimes from almost three decades in to her past. The results are both thought provoking and mesmerizing.
If you’re a checklist kind of person and you want to know what you’ve already done and what’s next, then Terminl is the product for you! All of your progress is tracked and accessible from wherever you are through this new online system. This complete workflow management system is just as slick as it is useful.
I'm a huge fan of the Profoto gear. When I came across this behind the scenes video on Profoto's blog, I just had to share it with you guys. To kick off the "Year of the Horse" Tokyo-based photographer Irwin Wong came up with a creative shoot in the middle of the forest.
It’s no secret that I have an unquenchable, near fetish-like lust for buttons and sliders or anything really that makes image processing akin to playing some freaky, incongruous musical instrument one might find in the Mos Eisley Cantina. This year, at CES 2014, Griffin announced an updated version of their PowerMate - an all-purpose, aluminum knob that will be wireless and wonderful and not out for a few more months. Luckily, there is a pretty great (and relatively inexpensive) wired version available now.
I would like to wrap up my Secrets to Crafting Top-Quality Beauty Portraits series in a quick roundup on the most common mistakes I have been noticing beginner Beauty photographers make.
I will sure talk more about Beauty photography in the future, but I'd like to summarize a few things at this point.
Featured last year for his "Wedding Day Zombie Apocalypse" composite, Photographer Josiah Moore is up to his old tricks again. This past fall he shot a wedding where both the Bride and Groom were car enthusiasts. He decided to make a fun chase scene out of a photo from the reception, and this video shows his process in Photoshop.
When looking at portraits, we have a tendency to look at the eyes first. We can't help it, it's part of human nature. This is why I personally believe it is extremely important to capture and refine the eyes in your photos to create more engaging portraits. Retoucher Michael Woloszynowicz created an awesome 4 part video series about how to make your eyes look amazing in post production. See the rest of the post below to watch video parts 2 through 4.
In the last article I shared, "The Most Important Setting in Lightroom is Set To Off By Default", I believe there was a misunderstanding because while talking about auto-saving your edits, I didn't also discuss backing up your Lightroom Catalogs. It is important to back up your catalog and as you will see in this video I'd even highly recommend changing the Lightroom default location for a more secure backup.
"Trevor, I have been editing this wedding for the last few days and now my Lightroom catalog says it is corrupted! When I opened a new catalog and reimported the photos from my hard disk I can't find any of my previous edits I worked so hard on. I am so frustrated! What did I do wrong?" Keep this from happening to you by having Lightroom automatically save your changes, but this setting is off by default. I'll show you where to turn it on.
Gravity was one of those movies I went to watch by myself this year. I wasn't sure what to expect and none of my family members were interested in seeing it so I grabbed my popcorn, a large orange soda and sat down for a movie experience I won't soon forget. But, watching this recently released BTS of how the movie was put together made the movie even better!
We talked about SmartAlbums a few weeks ago with their black friday launch and there was an overwhelming majority that agreed it was a complete game changer. I've been on the beta for about two months and have had the chance to do a review for you guys. The program is so simple to use but if you're too lazy to read there is a screen-share video at the end. It's a quick walkthrough of me building a personal album, it's silent though, so you should probably suck it up and read it, oh and then buy it.
