In this issue of Petersen's Photographic Digital Photography Guide we bring you a wide range of image processing options using a host of programs. Each article covers a different aspect of photography, from portraiture to landscapes to expanding an image's options through the use of High Dynamic Range imaging software. You can follow along and apply the lessons learned to your own work. The real beauty is that every program discussed is available with a free trial download from the company's website, which lets you try it before you buy to see if its features match your images and expression.
As a bonus, all of the programs we cover are not simply pushbutton affairs, which could impart a cookie cutter look to your images; every one offers a myriad of options that allow you to customize your own formulae, ensuring that your work will stand out from the crowd.
Volume 17 - Creative Image Processing |
Creative Image Processing
A Pro's Portrait Processing Workflow
When I'm looking at ways to do a specific task my brain often reverts to Occam's razor. (Occam was a logician and Franciscan friar in the 14th century.) The way I interpret it, is that if there are many ways to do something the easiest and most direct method is usually correct.
12.18.12 | Steve Bedell
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Creative Image Processing
Image Processing Apps
A colorful dragonfly alighted on a tree branch adjacent to the patio, so I went inside to grab my Nikon D300 and attached a Tamron 70-300mm lens. With strong backlighting, flash fill was mandatory, so I added an SB-900 speedlight to the mix.
12.18.12 | Jack Neubart
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Volume 16 - Nature & Outdoor |
Nature & Outdoor
That Extra Touch
You may think that flash should be used only in low light, but it can be applied in many ways in the outdoors. Flash not only provides light to add detail in otherwise dark areas, but that light also can enhance color in your subjects. The question often becomes when should you use fill flash outdoors, and when shouldn't you?
09.18.12 | Sean Arbabi
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Nature & Outdoor
Useful Camera Settings
As cameras have "evolved" from film to digital, so has photo "vernacular." Yet, the basic concept of KIS (Keep It Simple) remains; bombard yourself with too many features while trying to learn how to take a better picture and you risk becoming confused. You don't want to just get lucky shots you want to be able to predict when the right settings get you just the image and mood you desire.
09.18.12 | Sean Arbabi
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Volume 15 - Creating Better Photographics |
Creating Better Photographics
Choosing And Using Lenses
One of the main tools we have for creating visual effects are lenses, the photographer's eye on the world. Every choice of lens has implications about what you can and cannot include in the frame, how subjects within the frame relate to one another and how we use aperture settings and focal length to create a special point of view. In this chapter we'll explore lens choice as well as lens controls that are essential to creative photography, including depth of field and focusing options.
06.19.12 | George Schaub
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Volume 14 - Night & Low Light Photography |
Night & Low Light Photography
Low Light Special Effects
Low light photography presents many challenges, but like any challenging situation it also opens up opportunities to create unique images. Think outside the box and you will be surprised at the kind of images you can produce. The techniques I describe below will get you started. Try each one and see why there is no limit to what you can create with some imagination and effort, and have some fun in the bargain.
03.20.12 | Jim Zuckerman
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Volume 13 - iPhone Photography |
iPhone Photography
Moving, Sharing And Printing Your iPhone Images
When I wrote iPhone Artistry I moved hundreds of images from my iPhone to my desktop computer. Not once did I use a cable or iTunes! Yep, in this section you'll learn the speed and ease of apps and techniques that let you move images both to and from your iPhone, all the while bypassing time consuming hassles of synch cables and bloated desktop software!
12.20.11 | Dan Burkholder
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Volume 12 - Light & Exposure |
Light & Exposure
Shadows
Shadows are an integral part of light, and that means they are an integral part of photography. Everything casts a shadow, however subtle it may be, in virtually all types of lighting conditions. Even a small insect casts a shadow in diffused light.
09.20.11 | Jim Zuckerman
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Volume 11 - Close-Up & Macro |
Close-Up & Macro
Floral Photography
I'm sure that everyone who has ever owned a camera has taken pictures of flowers. It's impossible not to. Flowers are too beautiful to resist, and there are so many species and varieties that you could devote your entire life to shooting nothing but flowers and hardly scratch the surface.
06.21.11 | Jim Zuckerman
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Volume 10 - Personal Projects |
Photo Projects
Traffic Lights
One of the first techniques I learned in photography was to use long exposures at night to blur traffic lights. I liked it decades ago, and I still enjoy seeing artful streaks of light superimposed over an urban environment.
03.23.11 | Jim Zuckerman
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Volume 9 - Digital Back & White Photography |
Digital Back & White Photography
Black & White, Film & Digital
This issue is dedicated to digital techniques, but I feel it's important to have a discussion on the differences and similarities between black and white film and digital photography.
12.6.10 | George Schaub
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Volume 8 - Flash Photography |
Flash Photography
Pop-Up Flash
This issue is oriented to photographers who are serious about their photography, and who want to learn to use flash creatively.
9.6.10 | Jim Zuckerman
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Volume 7 - Travel Photography |
Travel Photography
Wildlife Photography
If your primary goal on a trip is to photograph animals, say on a safari or "eco-tour," this changes your approach to photography quite a bit. You have to think about many things that don't apply to other types of travel work.
6.6.10 | Jim Zuckerman
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Volume 6 - Color & Design |
Color & Design
Colors Of Night
If you have not been photographing at twilight or night up to now, you have an exciting adventure ahead. Because cameras have the ability to accumulate light over time, nighttime photographs can seem brighter than they do to our eyes.
3.6.10 | Jim Zuckerman
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Volume 5 - Choosing & Using Lenses |
Choosing & Using Lenses
Buying A Lens
After you buy a good camera that allows you to change lenses, it will become obvious to you that it is not the camera that enables you to be creative in photography. It is the lenses.
1.12.10 | Jim Zuckerman
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Volume 4 - People Photography |
People Photography
Photographing Children
Photographing children is a joy because of their innocence, the honesty in their faces, and their beauty.
10.14.09 | Jim Zuckerman
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Volume 3 - Landscape Photography |
Landscape Photography
Get Close
Minute details in nature are captivating. Rock textures, flowers, lichen, seashells, fungi, and leaf patterns make incredible pictures that reveal a world seldom noticed by people.
7.14.09 | Jim Zuckerman
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Volume 2 - Mastering Composition |
Mastering Composition
Unique Perspectives
Compelling compositions can come in many forms, and they can also come from unique points of view.
4.14.09 | Jim Zuckerman
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