Archives For Tutorials

Triopd_IMG_9887

How to Clean Your Tripod

Varina Patel —  May 9, 2013

Lanai Kai, Oahu, Hawaii (HI), USA

After shooting in salt water and sand during our trip to Hawaii, our tripods were badly in need of cleaning. Since it’s important to clean your tripod now and then, we thought we’d share the process on our blog. We try to clean our tripods about twice a year – more often if we’ve been shooting in sand, salt water, or swamps. Grains of sand can work their way into the grooves and threads of your tripod – you’ll know they’re in there if you hear a grinding or grating sound as you turn the knobs or make adjustments to the tripod. (Cringe!) Salt water can corrode some metals – so you should rinse your tripod after shooting at the beach. And swamp water – well, the bacteria that grows in swamps can climb right into your tripod legs and just hang out there… multiplying happily until you open your tripod and discover that it really stinks! Cleaning the tripod isn’t particularly difficult… though it can take some time. Jay and I usually clean both tripods at once, so we set aside a morning to do it. We’ve done it many times, so we’ve got it down to a science, and we can complete the task quickly.

The first step is to take the tripod apart. Each tripod will be different – Jay and I both have Induro’s CT113 Carbon Fiber Tripod. The important thing is to keep track of where all those little pieces go, so that you can put it all back together when youree done. If you’re worried about putting it all back together, take some photos for reference as you work. You may find that there are more pieces than you expected. Here is a video that show you how we clean our tripods:

The frequency with which you’ll need to clean your tripod depends upon how you use it. If it never leaves the house, you probably don’t need to clean it at all. If you are shooting on the grass or a muddy path – just rinse the feet when necessary and you’re good to go. Rain won’t hurt your tripod – though prolonged exposure to moisture can cause some parts to rust… so take the time to dry it off when you come in and leave it open until it’s thoroughly dry. Always rinse your tripod if you use it in salt water – salt can cause corrosion as well.

Take simple precautions to help keep your tripod clean a little longer. When we are shooting in sand, mud, or water, we always extend the lowest leg of the tripod at least a few inches beyond the mess. That simple action keeps the joint up out of the muck. If you can avoid it, don’t immerse the joint in sand or salt water. But don’t worry too much if it does get into the joints. Just take some time to clean it up and you’ll be good to go!

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prints-page-550x355

Put Your Brand On It!

Varina Patel —  May 2, 2013

I’m a firm believer in the importance of building a brand. If you see the Coca Cola logo (I bet you can picture it in your head right now) you can almost taste the soda on your tongue. Maybe you start singing the jingle in your head, or remember the last commercial you saw. Maybe you even start craving a nice cold soda all of a sudden. If you’re building a business as an artist, you want your brand to stand out in the minds of your clients in the same way that the CocaCola brand does. Maybe you want it to stand for high quality work, your own artistic style, your excellent educational resources… all the things that you want your customers to associate with your business.

We brand our work in a thousand little ways – from giving out business cards when we speak for a group, to displaying our logo in the header on our websites. That logo appears on the cover of our eBooks, at the beginning and end of our educational videos… even at the top of each invoice. So, you get the picture. I think branding is pretty important to building a business. In this post, I want to show you how I make sure my brand is visible when someone orders prints from my online store.

prints page

Maybe you already know that we use SmugMug for our print sales. They offer some really great branding options for artists – letting you keep your brand visible to your clients. This is how I’m using these services for my own business.

If you have a SmugMug Pro Business Account, SmugMug will display your branding in the shopping cart, include a 4×6 “thank you print” with orders, and place a sticker on the packages that contain your prints. That means that people are seeing your brand again and again… which is great marketing. It costs a dollar for the Thank You print and/or sticker. The branding banner on your shopping cart is free. (If you don’t have a SmugMug Pro account, you can use this 20% discount code to get one: SMUGMUGPATEL)

I started by designing my branding images in Photoshop. Make sure you check the size recommendations on the SmugMug website – click on Account Settings > Branding > Manage. You can upload the finished images from that page as well.

Here’s the image I created for my 4×6 “Thank You Print”. I always include a Certificate of Authenticity with my prints, and this is a great way to do that.

smugmug thank you print

I also created a simpler image for the sticker that will be placed on each shipment.

smugmug sticker

And, I made a simple graphic for the shopping cart banner.

smugmug branding

Once the images are ready, the next step is easy. Go to your Account Settings, and click on the Business icon, and then choose Branding from the menu. You can see that I already have branding set up on my site. If you are ready to set it up, just click on the Manage button under Branding.

branding page with circle

The Pro Branding page will let you upload the files you’ve created. Just click the Choose File button and navigate to the files you’ve created. Once the images are uploaded, you’re done.

upload page

SmugMug will show the Shopping Cart banner during checkout – like this:

shopping cart

Nice, eh? They’ll place the sticker you created on the outside of the box for each order – and inside, your client will find the nice thank-you card.

Now, I did have one minor issue when I was setting all this up. My first attempt at creating a shopping cart banner ended up looking like the image below. (I was using a different image at the time, but it was sized correctly according to the suggestion on the upload page.) You can see that part of the logo is cut off, and the displayed area is square. Weird. Support got me a solution right away. If this happens to you, go to your Gallery page, and click on the Settings button under your “My SmugMug Site Files” gallery. (This gallery is not visible to the public unless you make it so.) Scroll down on the Gallery Settings Page to the Look and Feel section, and make sure that the Thumbnail option for this gallery is set to Original. That should solve the problem. Of course, if you run into any problems, you can always contact support. They’re great about getting back to me quickly every single time.

shopping cart

If you are looking for more information about our experience with SmugMug, you can read this post.

SmugMug Pro account 20% Discount Code: SMUGMUGPATEL

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Tiny Planets

Varina Patel —  April 18, 2013

Tiny Planet

Here’s something fun I’ve been playing with lately. I’ve been fooling around with making tiny planets in Photoshop, and I thought I’d share the steps for making them – along with some basic tips that I learned as I played with the process. I have to admit that I had entirely too much fun with these. :)

Here’s how it works…

Step 1: Choose the Photo you want to use to create your planet. I’d recommend planning for these shots in advance, and taking some nice pano shots with interesting horizons. But, it works just as well to choose existing photos and crop them to your specifications. I chose this shot from Florida because it had a nice, wide horizon, some pretty reflections in the water, and an interesting sky.

01 starting image

This is what I started with.

Step 2: Make sure your horizon is level, and then crop the photo to create a wide panorama.

02 crop to pano

Here’s my pano crop.

Step 3: Next, we’re going to create a square shape by stretching the image. Choose Image > Image Size, then copy the dimensions for the Width into the Height box and click ok.

03 image size to square

Convert your pano to a square.

Here’s what happens to your image – it gets all stretched out. Stay with me here.

04 square stretched image

It looks weird, but don’t worry.

Step 4: Turn your image upside down. Choose Image > Image Rotation > 180 degrees.

05 rotate 180 degrees

Don’t forget to turn it upside down.

Step 4: Convert your image to 8-bit if it isn’t already. The polar coordinates filter doesn’t work for a 16-bit image. Choose Image > Mode > 8 Bits/Channel.

Step 5: Select Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates. Select the Rectangular to Polar option, and click ok. And there it is! Your very own little planet! It needs a bit more work, but you are mostly there! If you don’t like the result, go back and tweak your original image. You can choose a different one with a more interesting horizon, or crop it differently for a different finished effect. I’d recommend doing some experimentation to see what happens when you choose a wider or narrower panorama, include more or less sky or foreground, and so on.

07 polar coordinates filter

How cool is that?

Step 6: Now it’s time for some cleanup. I use the clone tool, the spot healing brush, and the patch tools – along with content aware functionality – to get the look I want. This is where my Wacom Intuos 5 tablet and stylus come in really handy. I’m zooming way in and working with lots of tiny details – and the stylus lets me have all the control I want. (Did I mention I’m a control freak?) ;) Anyway – I try to get rid of the sharp “crease” that happens when the filter does it’s work, and then I go in and make sure my reflections and horizon line are just right.

08 clone layer

Cleanup time.

Sometimes, I’ll create a duplicate layer and rotate it to help me achieve the finished look I want. In this case, my horizon wasn’t quite right. I rotated the duplicate layer on top of the original planet, and then used a mask to isolate part of the horizon line for that layer. Then I merged those layers, and continued with the cloning process. I used that little bit of rotated horizon to help me create a cleaner finished look.

09 rotate

Use whatever techniques work best for you for cleanup.

Here’s what the planet looked like when I was done with the cleanup.

10 cleaned up

Here’s my cleaned up planet.

For the finished image, I added some more clouds to fill in the stretched corners. I also added some wildlife. The birds add interest and also provide a sense of scale. I wanted my planet to feel truly tiny.

The Quiet - Varina Patel

What do you think?

Here are a few more examples of what you can create with this fun technique. This glowing planet was created from a burning sunset over Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park.

Flooded Planet

 

And this one is a Faerie World straight out of Iceland!

Little Green Planet

 

I’d love to see what you create using this technique! Please share a link in the comments… and feel free to share suggestions for creating great tiny planets as well. Have fun!

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Developing Creativity

Jay Patel —  April 15, 2013

How often to you hear photographers say that there is nothing to shoot because the light is really bad? When you hear yourself using that as an excuse – change your perspective. Instead of putting away your camera, see if you can get creative!

Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii (HI), USA

I took this shot late in the morning during our stay on the Big Island of Hawaii. The brilliant sunbeams appeared as mist from ocean spray blew through the trees. To capture sunbeams like these, you need bright sunlight… and mist or dust in the air. The particles in the air scatter the light, and create sunbeams.

Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii (HI), USA

I took this second shot to show you the conditions I was working with that morning. As you can see, the light was pretty harsh because the sun was up, and there were no clouds. Most photographers would classify this as “bad light” - but I see this as a great time to stretch your creativity.

Ok – so maybe this shot required certain conditions – the angle of the sun, the sea spray, the high trees near the beach. But this isn’t the only shot I took in bright sun while we were on the islands. I took each of the shots below when lighting conditions were less than optimal.

  • Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii (HI), USA

    Hilo, Hawaii

  • Lanai Kai, Oahu, Hawaii (HI), USA

    LaniKai, Oahu

  • Big Island, Hawaii (HI), USA

    Big Island, Hawaii

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Peeling Back the Layers

Varina Patel —  April 11, 2013

Big Island - Hawai'i, USA

When I took this shot on the Big Island of Hawaii, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Although the colors were rich and beautiful, I wanted to create a black and white version that would show off the soft contrast in the distance, and the repeating curves in the trees. When I want to convert to black and white, I usually start by producing a color image first. I want that full color shot for my archives, and in case someone asks for a color print. So, I started by adjusting the color balance – just as I would for any other photograph – and I go through my entire normal processing workflow. Once the color photo is finished, I save it, and then get back to work making adjustments for a black and white conversion. Here’s the original color photograph for reference. (You can click on any image to see it at larger size.)

Big Island - Hawai'i, USA

Before I get too far ahead of myself, I take a look at the finished color image and think about what I want to accomplish with my conversion. In this case, the image is about patterns and repetition. I wanted to make sure that the repeating patterns in the trees really stood out – so contrast was important. I also wanted to highlight the beautiful softness of the light filtering through the mist. I started by opening the image in Nik’s Silver Effex Pro. I chose on of my favorite filters to start with (024 Full Contrast and Structure), and made a few tweaks to it. I reduced the midtone structure just a bit, and then reduced the highlight tonality protection to make sure I kept the incredible glow on he leaves. Below, you can see what the Nik black and white conversion looked like.

hawaii_8969_NikBW

I loved the contrast in the finished conversion, but maybe you notice that the mist seems to have gotten lost. No problem. To bring it back, I needed a second black and white layer – and a mask. I hid  my Silver Efex layer (I didn’t delete it), and started again with the original color layer. This time, I used a simple Black and White adjustment layer. I converted the image to black and white again – this time, making sure I maintained the very soft contrast in the misty distance. Here’s what that layer looked like…

hawaii_8969_PSBW

Next, I created a mask so that the Black and White adjustment layer would have an effect only where I wanted it. I used my Wacom tablet and stylus to draw a simple selection, and feathered it pretty broadly and created the mask. Then, I zoomed in nice and close and made a few adjustments to the mask with the paintbrush tool to make sure I maintained a very natural look… I didn’t want tree trunks that were close to me to look hazy – just those in the distance. So blending the layers carefully was important. Here’s the black and white adjustment layer with the other layers turned off. You can see that the adjustments I made to this layer will only show up exactly where I wanted them.

hawaii_8969_mask

Maybe seeing the layers will be helpful, too. You can see that I started with the background layer (the bottom layer), and then created a Silver Efex layer for contrast. Then, I duplicated the background layer and placed it on top of the others. I created a black and white adjustment layer, and then added a mask to the background copy layer. The finished image is the one at the top of this post.

hawaii_8969_layers

 

So – what do you think? Do you think the finished image looks natural, and do you prefer the color image or the black and white conversion?

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Exposure: +1.3 eV

Photography Workflow: The Portal

Jay Patel —  April 8, 2013

Paige, Glen Canyon Recreational Area, Arizona (AZ), USA

I love to shoot Glen Canyon Recreational area around Paige Arizona, but this is a challenging place to get a good composition. To create an interesting composition for this shot, I used a small puddle of water to catch the reflection in the sky. As you can imagine, this was not an easy shot to process.

Field Work: As soon as I looked at the histogram on the back of the camera for the test image, I knew that I needed to bracket the shot. The question was, how much bracketing was necessary? For this photograph, I took a series of three bracketed test shots – then adjusted the bracketing amount based on the histogram for each of the three exposures. My objective was to capture enough details in the highlights and shadows to be able to successful blend the exposures in Photoshop.

  • Paige, Glen Canyon Recreational Area, Arizona (AZ), USA

    Exposure: +1.3 eV

  • Paige, Glen Canyon Recreational Area, Arizona (AZ), USA

    Exposure: 0 eV

  • Paige, Glen Canyon Recreational Area, Arizona (AZ), USA

    Exposure: -1.3 eV

Processing: I started by processing the the RAW files, and blending them using our iHDR manual blending workflow. Then, I processed the +1.3 EV RAW file a second time to bring out the details in the reflections on the puddle of water.  I created an additional blending layer for the “portal” using the mask shown below.

Paige, Glen Canyon Recreational Area, Arizona (AZ), USA

+1.3 eV Processed for Reflection

Paige, Glen Canyon Recreational Area, Arizona (AZ), USA

Mask for Reflection

The mask allowed me to make adjustments only to the reflected surface, leaving the rest of the image unaffected. I adjusted the edges of the mask to create a smooth blend between the textures of the rock and the puddle.

My final task was to make minor targeted adjustment for the image. I used my Wacom Intuos 5 tablet and stylus to adjust the overall contrast, and to make small corrections to the sky and the portal as seen in the image below.

Final Photoshop Layers & Mask

Final Photoshop Layers & Mask

How do you blend images? Do you use a special tone mapping program like Photomatix or HDR EFex Pro? Do you do it manually like we do? Or do you rely on a combination of both these techniques?

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Pay Attention to ME!

Varina Patel —  March 7, 2013

Tips for making a single element stand out in your photographs. ;)

When you shoot, do you take a moment to consider the most important element in your photograph? For this shot, I wanted to get in really close – and show off the beautiful, reflective droplets clinging to the leaf. I also wanted a very clear point of interest. So, I started looking for a single element that would work well for me. This little droplet was perfect. It stands out because it is much larger than the other droplets, and because it breaks the line that runs through the lower third of the image – between the leaf and the background.

Hakalau - Big Island - Hawai'i, USA
Here are a few tips for isolating a single element for impact.

1. You can blur the background to allow sharply focus foreground objects stand out. Blurring the background will also help obscure potentially distracting elements, which can pull the eye away from your point of interest.

2. Look for contrast. In this case I’m using contrast of size. The large drop stands out because it is so much larger than all those little ones. You can also use contrast of shape, color, tone, and so on.

3. Break the pattern. All those tiny little droplets make a pattern in this photograph – but I’ve broken that pattern. Twice. First, I positioned the leaf so that it’s edge cuts through the lower third of the photo. That brings your eye to the lower area right away. And then, just to be sure I have you where I want you, I’ve broken the pattern again by including the large droplet in the frame.

What techniques do you use to help isolate a single element within the frame? There are thousands of ways to do this. I always enjoy the challenge.

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Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming (WY), USA

Before and After: Grand Tetons

Jay Patel —  February 13, 2013

This was the view outside our tent when we went camping deep in the Grand Tetons.

Composition: I wanted to capture the late evening light and the foreground flowers. So, I set up the camera very low to the ground to fill the frame with the flowers in the foreground. This also required me to focus using the hyper focal distance principles to get everything sharply in focus.

Field Work: Because the terrain was uneven, I could not use a GND filter. A GND filter would have darkened the top of the mountains. Instead I carefully selected the exposure using the histogram on the back of the camera so that the entire dynamic range of the shot was captured in one single image.

Processing: I processed a single image 3 times and blended them manually to bring out the details in every part of the image. The layers used in the processing are shown in the image above. I used a Wacom Tablet to draw precise selections I needed for creating masks on the adjustment and blending layers. Here is what the photo looked like before editing.

Mountains and sky are overexposed. Flowers show loss of detail. Shadows are Flat.

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colorbalance

How to Choose the Right White Balance

Varina Patel —  February 11, 2013

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – color balance is critically important. No matter how carefully I compose my shot in-camera, I will always – ALWAYS – check my color settings during post processing. I recommend that you do the same. Even if you set your white balance in-camera. Even if you don’t make any other adjustments. Here’s why…

Your camera can’t see a darned thing. Really. It’s completely blind. It makes color choices based upon mathematical algorithms. And no matter how good those algorithms are… no matter how advanced the equations gets… it’s still using math. It can’t see what you can see with your eyes. So take a few seconds to get your colors right. A simple adjustment can make a big difference.

The first step is the simplest – but many people skip it. While you are shooting, take your eye away from the viewfinder and look around you. Take a moment to look carefully at the colors that are really there. Is the light from the setting sun changing the color of the landscape? Is light reflecting off brilliantly colored clouds and causing a color cast on the ground around you? At first, most of us have a hard time seeing those slight changes, but over time, you can develop your vision so that you notice the colors changing around you.

Try this simple exercise… next time you are out driving just before sunset, wait until the sun is directly over one of your shoulders. Either on your right, or on your left. Then, look at the trees, buildings, or other objects on the sides of the road. When the sun is low in the sky, you’ll notice that the objects on one side of the road are painted with light. The objects on the other side will be in shadow. Can  you see the golden or magenta color cast?

This is a great comparison for those who haven’t noticed the effect before. When I point this out to new students, they are almost always surprised by it. It’s something they haven’t noticed before. Once you start to notice changing light, see if you can see the color cast that appears on the ground under a brilliant sunset. Look for the glowing golden colors that appear in a forest in the spring… especially on a wet and overcast day. Soon, you’ll be seeing subtle color changes everywhere you go.

Ok – so now that you’ve seen the colors… now that you are really noticing them, open up your file in your RAW converter, and make the necessary adjustments. Start with the default setting based upon the conditions as they were when you took the shot. Was it cloudy? Choose a cloudy setting. But don’t stop there. Look at the image. Does the color balance look just right to you? Shift the temperature slider back and forth just a little and watch what happens to your image. Pay attention to subtle color casts that appear as you adjust the slider. You need to decide if those casts are what you want for your image.

Of course, color balance is a personal artistic choice. You can choose a realistic color balance, or you can choose something “artsy”. Do you want a moody look? A warm and inviting feel to your image? It’s up to you! Experiment with it. Remember, I have only one hard and fast rule for art… If you aren’t enjoying it, you are doing it wrong.

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Sandy Beach, Oahu - Hawai

Shooting the Moon at Twilight

Varina Patel —  February 7, 2013

The moon is a gorgeous subject, but it can be tough to get the shot you want. Have you ever taken a photograph of the moon at night only to discover that it is so bright in your photograph that it appears as a bright, white spot? Do you want to capture a landscape photograph with objects in the foreground and the moon in the sky as well? The trick is to capture the scene at twilight. When the light is low, you can capture the moon and the foreground with a single exposure – without blowing out the moon or leaving the foreground pitch dark.

I took this shot at Sandy Beach on Oahu early this week. Here are a few useful tips that helped me get the shot I wanted.

1. I used an Induro tripod to hold my camera steady. A 1/5 sec shutter speed let me blur my moving subjects in the foreground for a bit of motion without blurring my moon.

2. I took a couple of test shots to make sure I had the focus I wanted both in the foreground and in the sky. I zoomed in to check the photo on the back of my camera to be sure the details in the moon were sharp.

3. I stood well back from my foreground and used a long lens – 70-200mm with a 1.4x extender – which let me zoom in to show the large size of the moon as it rose. A wide angle lens will leave you with a tiny, little moon that gets lost in the frame.

Do have any more tips for shooting the moon? Please share them in the comments so that others can learn! And then, get out there and shoot the moon, everyone! It’s such a beautiful subject!

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