Articles written by Ryan Cooper

When retouching we often place a strong focus on the primary subject of the photo, often demoting other aspects of the image as a fleeting second thought. Which makes sense, the primary subject of the photo is the most important aspect of a photo. This is why it is so important to pay attention to the background, if the background is distracting the viewer from focusing on the subject there is a tremendous loss of coherency throughout the image.

On November 9, ON1 software released the latest version of their flagship editing software. Photo RAW 2018 looks to move ON1 further forward to being a genuine alternative to Adobe suite as an all-in-one photo editing tool. Touting a variety of critical new features Photo RAW 2018 promises to be the strongest iteration of the software to date. In this review, we will be putting Photo RAW 2018 through the gauntlet to determine if its latest new features move it closer to that goal.

Often when retouching skin we want to clone away high contrast blemishes without also cloning the texture surrounding it. Advanced techniques such as using frequency separation can be a great help to make this sort of thing easier by separating detail from broader tones. One often overlooked technique that does a great job of preserving mid-tone detail while cloning is to leverage the power of blend modes to target only bright tones or dark tones when cloning.

One of the most common retouching catastrophes I see on a day to day basis is an overzealous attack on eyes. Like over-baked HDR, obnoxiously over-retouched eyes have become almost ubiquitous among less experienced retouchers. Awareness is the first step to recovery, so in the spirit of painting a big obvious flag in front of all of you eye ruiners out there, take note. Your models will love you if you learn how to make their eyes look amazing without making them look like they belong in an episode of "Stranger Things."

As a key player in the transition from SD to HD, the CineForm codec has enjoyed a long history as one of the codecs continually on the cutting edge of video compression. GoPro has decided that moving forward it will be officially open sourcing the CineForm codec in order to better allow developers access to what it feels is the codex that will usher 360-degree video into the future. With the arrival of GoPro's new Fusion camera in November, the open sourcing of the CineForm codec appears to be a great step towards expanding interest in GoPro's new platform.

Earlier this year Newsweek ran a cover featuring everyone's favorite president to hate as their cover, depicting him lazily hanging out in the oval office pounding back the calories in about the least presidential way possible. Newsweek contracted legendary conceptual photographer C.J. Burton to create this inevitably notorious cover. Naturally, Burton quickly realized there would be no chance of him getting access to either Trump or the Oval Office for such a shoot so needed to leverage the power of compositing to create the image desired by the client.

Today ON1 Software announced the 2018 version of their flagship editing software, Photo RAW. With the addition of a variety of new features, Photo RAW 2018 promises to be the most compelling version yet. Among others, ON1 has added support for HDR, panoramic stitching, and more powerful masking to Photo RAW. A free public beta of Photo RAW 2018 will be available Friday, October 6.

If I had a nickel for every time I witnessed a photographer missing out on a great photographic opportunity in the name of fear, I'd be a rich man. Fear is one of the most powerful forces that holds us back in our lives. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment, or fear of injury all play a huge role in our decision making by clouding our rational judgment. By letting fear control us we let it define the limits of what is possible. Never let fear play a key role in the creation of your art.

Most photographers use their cameras on a daily basis with little or no thought to how it functions under the hood. For the most part, this makes sense, mastering a tool doesn't require understanding exactly how it functions on the most intimate technical level. There are, however, aspects of camera operation that a cursory knowledge of can aid in being better equipped to address unexpected technical or mechanical issues. Given that autofocus can be finicky, it quickly becomes one of the critical aspects of your camera that you should take the time to learn about.