Articles from Pratik Naik

How important is it to have a graphic tablet and do I really need it? This is a question that I get asked quite often and wanted to elaborate on it. It may be that you've never tried one or perhaps you never got used to it and did not like the experience. Is that normal and how imperative is it that you get used to using one? 

Mental Floss posted this great article that gives us a look into how the first issues of magazines such as Time, People, Wired, Playboy, ESPN, and more looked like. It even gives a brief summary as to what each issue was about. 

Over the span of three months, Luke Shepard journeyed through 36 cities and 21 countries with the intent of capturing these beautiful European structures. What started as a successful kickstarter campaign,which raised nearly $20,000, has led to this beautiful video. 

Photoshelter recently ran this great article about Sports Illustrated and what they look for in a photographer. They sat down and interviewed Brad Smith, Director of Photography at Sports Illustrated. This is an invaluable article to anyone out there who shoots sports! 

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to work with a retoucher on a concept you've had in mind, this may be just what you're looking for. Photographer Justin Bettman wanted to create a concept but didn't have the ability to do so on his own, so he teamed up with creative retoucher and manipulator Krzysztof Rejek to bring his idea to life. 

“Mark Kologi has collected and sold literally millions of forgotten personal photos of complete strangers.” That was the only tag line associated with the video. With curiosity, I entered Mark's world for a moment through the video. I was curious to know why he does this. Immediately, I got it and it brought out the fascination I have with photography.

If you're a wedding photographer, you probably know who Jasmine Star is by now. Not only is she talented in what she does but she also has a wealth of knowledge that is helpful to those who want to learn more about shooting weddings and engagement sessions. 

I've always been fascinated with airplanes, the miracle of flight on display right above our heads never gets old. Photographer Milton Tan created this timelapse video titled 'The Air Traffic' that shows airplanes whizzing around the air. Sped up, it creates a great effect that looks almost extra terrestrial. 

Photoshop is such an elaborate program that it takes years to figure it all out. Then when you finally think you know everything, they add more features or you discover  features that you never knew were there this whole time. This video by Photoshop Product Manager Bryan O'Neil Hughes explores a variation of methods and techniques. 

Cell phones have given people the ability to take photos on the go. It's given everyone a camera in their pocket. There are great implications for this such as the instant ability to record and share news worthy events. Sometimes, they open up for expanding creativity as well. Sometimes, it's used for things like this. 

I love animals and many of us do. They're so expressive and it makes you wonder what they're thinking of. You see the innocence in their eyes and you know it's genuine. Let's not forget to mention their ever ready playful demeanor. When you combine these vibrant attributes with photography, it sets up for some endearing work. Cue in animal photographer, Jessica Trinh. 

The hot topic of the week around here has been the new Creative Cloud model from Adobe. We recently posted this video discussion about what some of us thought of it along with this article on why it may not be a good idea. There were great points made on both ends. However, like all popular things, humor follows shortly on the Internet. 

Now and then, some people tell me that they had no idea retouching existed before Photoshop. It comes as a big surprise to them when they learn about the history of it. I don't blame them, we're so used to Photoshop these days that it's hard to imagine what it would be like long before it, especially in the 1940's.  

You've probably heard of Opteka, the company that manufactures lenses, grips, and other photographic accessories and equipment. We found a recent offer on their Facebook page that we wanted to get your opinion on. 

Photoshop blending modes are one of those areas in Photoshop that a very few people understand in full detail. Everyone has a general idea on how they work and what some of the modes do specifically. Much of it has always seemed to be understood through experimentation. The results you get are often guessed. If you're the lucky few who know all of them precisely, you will still want to read this article. 

When I saw this series of photos from Rob Turney, I dismissed them as photographs because they looked computer generated. It turned out that I was completely wrong when I read the description of how they were made. They were beyond brilliant. What's even better is the 'how to' video Rob pointed me toward.

Venus is the Roman goddess who encompassed the concept of beauty, love and various other traits. She embodies all that is beautiful about a woman. Now, if you took the classical definition of beauty and brought her over to our age today where everything is retouched to 'perfection', what would she look like ? 

I am always looking out for ways to help people in regards to the cost aspect of post processing. We currently have a few options out there, some of which includes free software such as Gimp or Paint. However, I recently stumbled upon another option. 

Through the years of excitement, down turns, and overall joy of our beautiful love for photography, we share a lot of experiences as we progress in the industry. No matter how divided we are in opinions, one thing we share is our love for photography. We may bicker over camera brands and techniques but you're reading this because like me, you love this industry. 

If you're familiar with Fstoppers, you'll know our love for Benjamin Von Wong. We've featured him so many times over the past couple of years on our site. We just can't help ourselves! With his equally educational and entertaining BTS videos, everyone seems to love them. I decided that it would be a great time to take a moment and look into his world to learn more about him and what keeps him going. 

Fstoppers recently brought you an exclusive interview with photographer Joey L. In the process, we took a peak into some of his latest projects and revisited some of his previous work. He recently also photographed the national campaign for National Geographic's film, Killing Lincoln. He teamed up with Variable to execute the campaign.

Canon has given us a look at their recent prototype that makes progress on low light performance. To say it's sensitive in low light is an understatement. Take a look at the couple of sample images they've released along with their sample video, showing how great it captures the night sky. It's quite remarkable to say the least. 

We've seen this great post about pulling stills from video before. It really opens up the discussion about what technology can do for us. Will video really replace photography? The reality is it probably won't. There are quite a few pros and cons that go along with it. The Slanted Lens goes in depth with this behind the scenes video with a Canon EOS-1DC. 

Visual effects artists are very much like our cousins, in the sense that our industry is visually based much like they are. We felt that we had to post about this for the sake of awareness in case you aren't familiar with the news. Also, we wanted to create an open dialogue and hear from our readers about what they thought about all of this. 

I recently came across the work of Miller Mobley on Twitter on a random chance of browsing through a few recent tweets. I was linked directly to his blogwhich had a post about his recent shoot with Quentin Tarantino and Jamie Foxx. What I loved, more than his impeccable results, was how he was quite giving in regards to the details of the shoot. 

Everyone remembers the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover. It brought a lot of discussion for the wrong reasons. If you don't, you should refresh your memory here. This time around, the 2013 cover also features Kate Upton. Although it is much better, it seems that some people are still unhappy with it because she's the cover model again. At least the focus went away from the processing of the image.

Reality is sometimes funnier than fiction when it relates to something we all do. In this situation, I asked my network of colleagues to fill in the blank, “You know you're a photographer when, ____.” The responses were better than I was expecting! Here are some of the best answers given by other photographers in the industry. Be sure to post your own answers in the comments as well! 

Photoshop, it's either a scary program or a fun one, depending on how much you understand it. There are times where it just becomes a nightmare. Specifically, extracting a model with flyaways from a backdrop. There are indeed many methods to do so. Here's one more that really gives us a good solution.

Consistently, issues with digitally altered photos have appeared in the media. In specific, the way they affect younger women by what they see in images, whether in magazines or elsewhere. Now, Israel has taken proactive steps. 

Google's predictive text can be a funny thing, especially with some of the suggestions it gives you. It seems to be partly based upon what other people may search for in relation to the specific keywords that you enter. I decided to see what would come up if we entered a few phrases regarding photographers such as 'Why do photographers...'. The results were hilarious and kind of sad!