Recent Post Production Articles

Northrup Vs. Fro, JPG Vs. Raw: Why Is It Even Still a Debate?

It’s the equivalent of a presidential Twitter feud, but for the photography world. Everyone’s favorite Anderson Cooper lookalike Tony Northrup released a video on November 4 about the benefits and downsides to shooting raw files versus JPG files, and in this video dispensed some advice on when to shoot raw files and when to shoot JPG files (and when to shoot both). Naturally, this elicited a strong response from everyone’s favorite (only?) Fro, Jared Polin of “Fro Knows Photo” fame, who is known for his shirts indicating to the world that he does indeed shoot raw. All the time.

ISO Is Not Fake and Tony Northrup Is Wrong

A few days ago, camera industry guru Tony Northrup published a video arguing that in the age of digital photography, ISO is effectively meaningless and that it’s no different from dragging the exposure slider in Lightroom. Photographer Dave McKeegan has offered a response and argues that Northrup’s logic is completely wrong.

Use Color Contrast in Photoshop for More Depth and Richness in Portraits

There are so many different ways to process your photographs. Some people will spend hours on a single image, others will spend a few seconds, and the rest of us fall somewhere in between those ranges. For the most part I think we all strive to get as much as we can in-camera through the time we spend metering subjects, dialing in exposure settings, and controlling our lighting whenever possible. Post-processing is just another part of that creative process where we harness the capabilities of the image created in the negative and use our own preferential techniques to create the final image.

Adobe Lightroom Versus Capture One for Fuji X-Trans Sensors

In the comments section of my last article, I remarked that "I always liked the rendering of X-Trans files on C1 more than Lightroom anyway, so maybe this is just the reason I need to make the switch back." A longtime contributor to the comments, Pete Miller, asked if that was indeed the case. Good question! Let's find out if the reputation Lightroom has gained for inferior Fuji X-Trans processing is still warranted.

Here's Why You Should Stop Worrying About ISO Noise

Most photographers try their absolute best to avoid ISO noise in their photos and some spend an age trying to rid their images of it in image editing software. But it's not as much of a problem as you think and here's why.

How to Edit Faster With the 'Dark Mode' Technique

Is there a faster and easier way to create dramatic images in Lightroom that still sticks with your style? Here’s a quick tutorial and a different way of taking one of your images and using the power of Adobe’s software to create a stunning portrait.

Side by Side Video Highlights The Talents of Visual Effects Teams (NSFW)

From time to time, we show of some behind the scenes videos of popular movies and TV shows that highlight the hard work done behind the camera to make the stories come alive. However, rarely do we get to see a side by side comparison of a visual effect heavy movie such as Final Destination 5, showing us all the hard work that is done to seamlessly create exciting moments on a budget.

Using AI to Restore Old Photos Actually Works

It's absolutely mind-blowing how much artificial intelligence has come to play a central role in photography. There's the presence of it in everyday usage in smartphones, with things like portrait mode and night sight, but now, even more powerful tools are available to desktop retouchers. Just check out how it works on this 70-year-old photo.

One Simple Trick for Better Color Grading in Adobe Premiere Pro

Color grading is a profession in and of itself, which means the technical know-how, the theory, and the nuance, all run very deep indeed. However, some methods are more powerful and useful than others, and this one particular tool could greatly impact your work.

Model making funny face with color chart

It's happened to me and it has most likely happened to you: you order a shirt and can't wait for it to arrive. Then it does and it's a completely different hue than what was pictured in the online store or catalog. Odds are the photographer may not have used a color chart during his or her shoot. There are many photographers that never learn to use a color chart at all, and others who won't do a shoot without one. Here are a few major points on how a color chart can help make your product photography color spot on.

Life After Apple: Month One

As I wrote about before, I have always been the biggest Apple fan anyone’s ever seen. Especially with my background in graphic design, it only made sense to use an Apple computer. Naturally, as I transitioned into being a photographer, I continued to use nothing but Apple computers, and I do still maintain that they make an excellent, high-quality product. That said, it does come at a price, a rather hefty price that made me question things.

Glyn Dewis Shows You How to Save an Almost Unusable Image

In this valuable tutorial Glyn Dewis takes a quick snapshot and shows you how to pull detail from highlights and shadows to make it a beautiful image. Dewis mentions some great workflow tips and tricks in Adobe Lightroom as well as how to bring your image over, non destructively, to Photoshop camera raw.

Photoshop CC 2015 Liquify Ligthen rendering issue

Adobe just updated a couple of their CC applications, one of which being Photoshop. Amongst the new features, it was almost inevitable that a few bugs would show up. One that can be quite annoying is the liquify tool lighting or rendering problem. But there is a quick and easy workaround.

The Photoshop Filter You Need to Start Using Right Now

Hidden within the heart of Adobe Photoshop is a filter that many are familiar with, yet most fail to use to its full potential. It is a powerful, all encompassing workhorse, and its abilities may just change the way you approach your Photoshop edits. Ladies and gentlemen, let's explore the often ignored Camera Raw Filter.

Things You MUST Know About Groups on Facebook

Photography-related groups on Facebook are growing exponentially along with the exploding industry. As with many things in life, there are pros and cons when participating in these groups. One can experience valuable feedback, expertise and positive reinforcement from peers, while also experiencing nitpickers and people who pull you down. There are far more important elements often missed when discussing groups that could change the way you benefit from them... forever.

Noob Astrophotography Mistakes That Will Ruin Your Nightscapes

Landscape photographers spend a lot of time outdoors at strange hours of the day to capture a few shots at sunrise and sunset. But have you considered exploring astrophotography to broaden your shoot options to include breathless starry nights?

Improve Your Color Grading Skills in 20 Minutes With This Detailed Video Tutorial

Color grading is amongst the most important step of retouching. Along with lighting, it sets the mood of your image and can also help tie together the different elements of your composition. Learning all the different ways of altering colors in a picture is probably as important if not more important than knowing how to retouch skin or remove objects. In this 20-minute long tutorial, Michael Woloszynowicz explains everything there is to know about the color balance layer adjustment and how to use it to color balance your images in the best way possible.

Smoothing Out Backscatter with Adobe Lightroom's New Texture Tool

It has been some time since Adobe last released a new control to Lightroom, and as such, I was very keen to try out their latest addition — the “Texture” slider. Since a good majority of my work is underwater, I was of course interested in what value it could add to underwater images. As I have quickly learned, this new feature is a great tool for underwater photographers — particularly those who struggle with backscatter in their images.

Photoshoot Breakdown - Behind The Scenes Into Camaro Photoshoot

Yesterday, I showed you the process of pre-producing a successful photoshoot and used a recent session as an example on all the steps it takes to put together a successful session with a large team. Today, I put together a breakdown of the entire production and post production process on creating a successful portrait session and a behind the scenes look into what all goes into it.

How to Use the Tone Curve Tool in Adobe Lightroom

Adobe photo editing software has been around for so long and seen so many iterations that its depth is almost unknowable. Even some of the fundamental tools have nuance and required skill to get the most out of them, and the Tone Curve is one of them.

A Complete Astrophotography Workshop, for Free

There are a lot of good tutorial resources out there, some of them free, but for the most part if you want a high quality video tutorial, you'll need to pay. Well, this is a rare exception.

How to Sharpen Images in Photoshop

Image sharpening is one of the most important steps in a postproduction workflow. However, with a myriad of options and methods to do it, it can be a daunting understanding exactly what you're doing and why. This great tutorial will show both what sharpening an image does and how to do it.

Focus Stacking on Steroids

With the advancements in camera technology and software, focus stacking has never been easier. You can now even stack complex woodland photos without significant difficulty. In this article, I share how to approach such scenes.

The Excellent Change to the Curves Tool in Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom was once where you imported all your images into collections and then made some small tweaks before exporting to Adobe Photoshop. Now, it is a complex beast in its own right and can manage entire post-production workflows in some instances.
A Collection Of The 10 Best Resources To Learn Photoshop

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!

8 Helpful Photo-Editing Tips for Beginners

When it comes to creating a finished photo, choosing the right camera settings and a nice composition is only half of what it takes. Knowing how to edit a photo to achieve a tasteful result that matches your creative vision is the other half. If you are newer to photography, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will give you eight tips sure to improve your post-processing.

Fstoppers Reviews: The Lightroom 4 Preset System By SLR Lounge

The internet has become a gold mine of resources for photographers of all different genres, experience levels and styles. It's so easy to find inexpensive Lightroom or Photoshop presets to help create interesting post-processing colors and effects without spending hours trying to create them yourself. The only problem is: which ones do you use? SLR Lounge has released an all-comprehensive Lightroom 4 Preset System that is user-friendly and takes the headache out of using presets.

Try This Software Before You Upgrade Your Camera

Many of us get really excited about new cameras and upgrading our equipment. New, always seems better in the tech world. Unfortunately, it generally comes with quite a hefty price. Upgrading your equipment regularly can be extremely costly and in many situations, it's not really worth it.

Make Dodging and Burning Easier Using Wacom Pen Shortcuts

Beginners ask all the time on Facebook groups or in forums how to diminish their retouching time. The truth is, there aren't any magical technique to cut time, only tricks to help accelerate your workflow. There is one, in particular, to make your dodging and burning process more flawless and thus a bit faster by utilizing a Wacom tablet.

Five Great Adobe Lightroom Tips

In his latest photography tutorial, noted French photographer and prolific video tutorial maker Serge Ramelli discusses his top five Lightroom tips.