Scott Kelby has written some of the best, most readable introductions to Elements, Lightroom, and Photoshop. If you are new to this software, this is a great place to start. The book for the most recent version of Elements is The Photoshop Elements 13 Book for Digital Photographers. Kelby’s books is also available for Elements 12.
Category Archives: Computing and Software
The Best Image Editing Software
Adobe Photoshop Elements 13, Adobe Photoshop CC, and Lightroom 5
Your photos will look their best if you optimize them with some good image editing software.
Short list:
Adobe Photoshop Elements 13, 12, or 11*
Adobe Photoshop CC or CS6*
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC, 6, 5 or 4*
* See the section below on Adobe’s new process version.
POTD: Vermilion Lakes Reflection
Vermilion Lakes, Banff National Park
Vermilion Lakes (a string of three side by side lakes) just outside of the town of Banff, Alberta is a great landscape location. On this particular day the light was beautiful. Evergreens are usually quite dark in a photograph but the low side-lit angle of the sunlight was trans-illuminating the evergreens so they glowed a bright green. The lightly dimpled lake was just calm enough to give me a nice, slightly blurred reflection.
The Best of the Best: Recommendations For The Best Photo Equipment, Books, Magazines, DVDs, Software, and Online Photo Labs
The best of the best cameras, accessories, photo books and more.
It’s the time of year that the number of photo questions I receive increases dramatically. Most of them have to do with the upcoming holiday season and gift giving questions: “What should I get for . . . .”
So once again I am revising my list of articles recommending the best photo gear, books, DVDs, software, calendars, online photo labs, and a whole lot more. As I rewrite each article I will update the links below. You can check the date at the top of each article. This is the most recent update to the list (Nov. 10, 2014).
Evening in the Rockies: ACR and RAW Files to the Rescue
Photo Field Trip, Rocky Mountain National Park. RAW file corrected with ACR.
These are some of the photographers at my photography workshop this past weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park. I processed the original RAW camera file with Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) to pull details out of the dark shadows.
POTD: Kristin in the Shade with a Touch of Fill Flash
Kristin in the shade with some fill flash.
Cloudy bright days are great for portrait photography. No harsh shadows. Soft even, flattering light. So what do you do in the harsh light (at least for most portrait photography) of a bright, sunny day?
The “Score” and the “Performance”
Kristin, Piano Reflection.
Ansel Adams, a classically trained concert pianist who became a world class landscape photographer, often said “The negative is similar to a musician’s score, and the print to the performance of that score”. Adams was right. Today we might say the digital camera file is the score and the work in the digital darkroom is the performance. The click of the shutter is an important step in the photographic process but not the end of the process.
When Two Heads are Better Than One: Compositing Wildlife Images
Red Winged Blackbird, composite image
When you just can’t get the right pose out of a wildlife subject, compositing two images together may be just the right ticket to the image you want.
Sisters: Color Correction with Adobe Camera Raw
Sisters.
The best way to insure excellent color in a portrait is to begin by setting a custom white balance on the camera, but that isn’t always practical. That’s when Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) comes to the rescue.
POTD: “A Moment of Discovery”
A Moment of Discovery
When you are photographing very active children around 2 1/2 years of age, it is often best to just follow them around and let them do their thing, rather than try to “pose” them. I followed my grandson around my backyard for almost an hour, taking pictures and hoping to get just the right image. To get the best point of view I needed to be on my knees. Spending that much time on your knees is hard on the knees, but what else can you do? When you photograph children you need to be down on their level.
The “Heartbleed” Bug
The Heartbleed Bug has created vulnerabilities in about 66% of all internet online servers, including major sites like Yahoo. On a scale of 1 to 10, this is an 11 according to security experts. The odds are good that one of the sites you have logged in to has been affected, exposing your personal information (name, user name, password, credit card information etc.).
First Flowers of Spring!
Flower Modified with Painteresque
I was walking our dog yesterday and spotted the first flowers to pop up in our neighborhood. It is starting to look like spring! This is an iPhone photo modified by Painteresque, one of my favorite iPhone apps.
“Where Were You When You Took Those Photos?”
Mount Rundle, Two Jack Lake
Today I was asked by a client where I was when I took some photos in Banff National Park. I was able to provide him with the exact locations, complete with marked satellite images. It is a good idea to known where you were when you created your most important images, and the more specific the information the better. It is good info to have for your own use and sometimes it can make the difference between whether or not one of your images is published.
Better Images: Adobe’s Improved “Process Version” for Adobe Camera Raw
Vermilion Lakes Sunset, new (top) and old (bottom) ACR “process versions”. Click on the photo to see a larger image.
Adobe has a new “process version” for Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). This means better image processing for your RAW camera files.
An Illustrated Photo Art Journey with iPhone Apps
The Chalice of Life
This morning I was sitting in a waiting room with not much to do when I became interested in the play of light through a wall made with glass blocks. I decided to have a little fun with my iPhone and some apps.
iPhone Art with the Painteresque App
Autumn Leaves, Banff National Park (modified image)
I take pictures with my iPhone just for fun. And that includes altering the photos, like the one above, with some of my favorite iPhone apps.
Geo-Tagged Photos: Posting Photos Online Can Put Your Family at Risk
Exif Viewer, GPS Photo Location Data
Your smartphone is designed to geotag the locations of your photos and store it in the photo’s “metadata”. Many other cameras do the same thing. This means if you take pictures of your family and post them online, anyone (including some very unsavory characters) can pull up a map of where the photo was taken. Is there really a danger? Yes. Burglars and kidnappers are already using online photos to track potential victims. Law enforcement offices are warning that sexual predators can do the same thing. See the articles and videos linked below. What can you do to protect your family? Keep reading.
Originally posted August 13, 2013. Revised and updated January 28, 2015. Updated again Dec. 17, 2016.
How to Photograph Fireworks
The Strip, Las Vegas with Fireworks
You can point your camera at the sky in auto exposure and autofocus modes and fire away whenever you see a burst of fireworks, but for the best quality photos, it helps to know a few tricks of the trade. It’s easy when you know what to do.
POTD: The Moment of Birth!
Moment of Birth
There are very few moments on earth that match the birth of a baby. Such wonder, awe, and love. It was a privileged to be asked by the parents to be there and photograph the big event.
Portrait Retouch in 6 Minutes
My first YouTube video. I did a video screen capture of a 90 minute retouching job and sped up the video 16x to a little over 6 minutes (not counting opening and closing titles). Watch it here or see a larger version at YouTube.
Adobe’s Improved “Process Version” for Adobe Camera Raw
Vermilion Lakes Sunset, new and old ACR “process versions”. Click on the photo to see a larger image.
Adobe has a new “process version” for Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). This means better image processing for your RAW camera files.
Q&A: Is Photoshop 6 The Same As “CS6”?
Adobe Elements 11, Lightroom 4, and Photoshop CS6
Question:Â “I’m looking at photography courses online. The courses are free but some require students to own or have access to various versions of Photoshop. Does anyone know if Photoshop 6 is the same as Photoshop CS6?”
Never Underestimate Your iPhone Camera
Christmas Tree Impressions (iPhone 4S)
I never thought I would sell prints from my iPhone. I was wrong.
How to Photograph the Milky Way
Night Sky Over the Mojave Desert.
How do you photograph the Milky Way, that milky band of light across the night sky that has our galaxy’s brightest concentration of light? With a wide angle lens and a tripod it is simple if you know a few tricks. Finding a dark enough sky is more of a problem.
The Best Image Editing Software
Adobe Elements 11, Lightroom 4, and Photoshop CS6
Your photos will look their best if you optimize them with some good image editing software.
Short list:
Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 or 10
Adobe Photoshop CS6 or CS5
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 or 3
Best iPhone/Android Apps for Photographers: Painteresque
Bumble Bee and Flowers
There are a lot of apps that claim to jazz up your iPhone and Android photos. A few of them will actually do wonderful things to your photos. If you want to turn some of your photos into “paintings”, there is a great app that will do that for you.
National Geographic’s Kurt Mutchler at OSU
National Geographic’s Kurt Mutchler, Executive Editor, Photography
OK, admit it. If you are serious about your photography, you would like to see one of your photos in National Geographic. Sadly, the odds of that are about as good as they are for starting in an NBA basketball game. So the next best thing is to meet one of National Geographic’s photo editors. That dream came true for me last week.
BEST IMAGING EDITING SOFTWARE
Adobe Photoshop Software
Your photos will look their best if you optimize them with some good image editing software.
Short list:
Adobe Photoshop Elements 10
Adobe Photoshop CS5/CS4/CS3
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3
Travel with a MacBook Air
Jeremy Bruskotter and I were the instructors for a photography workshop at OSU’s Gibraltar Island this past weekend. One of the participants was using a MacBook Air as his travel laptop. What a delightful, featherweight machine. And his photos looked wonderful on the screen.
The RAW vs Jpeg Exposure Advantage
JPEG AND RAW Files, 2 Stops Overexposed.
RAW files have a huge advantage over jpeg files when it comes to exposure latitude. With the same exact exposure, a RAW file can give you a good image while the jpeg file is a throwaway. Why is that? RAW files have a lot more exposure latitude than jpeg files. You can read all about it in The RAW vs Jpeg Exposure Advantage.