Macro photography, or taking larger-than-life-size pictures of very small subjects, is a fascinating, absorbing branch of photography through which you can explore the details of the world around you (and come up with some fantastic images in the process).

Once impractical for many because it required a substantial investment in equipment, macro photography is now accessible to everyone who owns a DSLR or even a digital point-and-shoot camera.

Micro, Macro or Close Up?

The terms macro and micro are both commonly used in this aspect of photography, and though the literal meanings are opposite (micro means small and macro means large), they both refer to the same thing: making a small object look big.

True macro photography is done using a dedicated macro (for Canon products) or micro (for Nikon products) lens, which has the capability of achieving at least a 1:1 magnification.

Close-up photography is similar to macro photography in that it makes small objects look large, but it’s done by photographing objects at a very close range with a standard, non-macro lens.

The main difference in the images produced is the degree of magnification and the degree of fine detail that can be captured.

A close-up photograph with a non-macro lens will make small subjects larger, but a macro lens will dramatically increase the degree of magnification and make even the most minuscule details visible.

The Equipment You Need For Macro Photography

Like many aspects of digital imaging, macro photography can be as simple and affordable or as complexicated and expensive as you care to make it.

If you own a digital camera, you can actually start doing macro photography with no additional equipment whatsoever.

The overwhelming majority of digital cameras, from point-and-shoot models to DSLRs, have a selectable macro mode that can be accessed either via an external control or through the viewfinder menu.

Option #1: Point-and-Shoot Digital Cameras

In a point-and-shoot digital camera, choosing the macro mode makes the lens elements automatically adjust for close focusing.

The upside of this is that it’s a no-cost, no-hassle way to take outstanding macro and close-up photographs, requiring absolutely zero investment in additional equipment; the downside is that the photos won’t have the same level of precision, detail, magnification, and quality as those shot with a DSLR camera and a dedicated macro lens.

If you’re just starting to consider branching into macro photography, a point-and-shoot camera in macro mode can be an excellent way to begin.

It can give you the chance to explore the possibilities of recording very small and detailed subjects without making any investment in equipment or mastering new techniques.

It’s a no-cost way of finding out whether macro photography is for you, and you’ll get some great shots along the way.

Option #2: DSLR Cameras

If you have a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera, your macro photography options increase exponentially.

You can use the lenses you already have, you can add equipment that expands the capability of your existing lenses, or you can buy dedicated lenses that are made specifically for macro photography.

All of them work and they can all produce excellent images, so the choice depends on your budget, your level of experience, and the quality of images that you need to produce.

Starting with the most affordable options, here are some ideas for making your DSLR camera a macro machine.

Reverse the Lens You Already Have
If you own a 50mm fixed focal length or “prime” lens, you have the basics of a macro photography setup.

The reverse lens technique is exactly what it sounds like: you remove your 50mm lens from the camera and turn it around so that the front side of the lens, which usually faces the subject, is facing the camera.

If you have a steady hand you can “free lens,” or simply hold the lens against the camera to shoot; if you want more stability or a more permanent setup, you can purchase a specially made threaded adaptor called a reversing ring, which holds the reversed lens to the camera.

Reversing rings are widely available wherever camera accessories are sold, for less than the cost of a pizza.

The reverse lens technique works because of the way a 50mm prime lens operates. In standard photography, a 50mm lens focuses the light from far away, making the image smaller so it can be captured by a digital sensor. When you reverse the lens, the opposite happens, and the image is magnified to near life-size.

This technique works with prime lenses of any size, but the 50mm is thought by many to create the best results.

Note: you can use the reverse lens technique with a point-and-shoot or even a cell phone camera, but it’s a tricky undertaking.

There’s no choice but to free-lens the reversed lens, and it’s hard to avoid camera shake when firing. But if you have a point-and-shoot, a 50mm prime lens, a steady hand, and some time and patience, you can come up with some outstanding macro images.

Use Two Lenses, but Reverse One of Them
If you have another lens in addition to a 50mm, you can put them both together to create a powerful macro setup.

This technique, known as twin reverse lens or dual reverse lens, will work with any lens as the primary lens (attached to the camera and behind the reversed 50mm), though the longer the focal length of the primary lens the greater the magnification will be.

To use this technique to its full advantage, you’ll need to purchase a coupling ring to join the two lenses together.

It’s simplest if both lenses have the same size filter threads, but if they don’t, you can use a stepping ring to make them match.

To implement this technique, just attach your primary lens to the camera as usual, then reverse the 50mm lens and use a coupling ring (plus stepping ring if necessary) to attach it to the primary lens.

The two lenses make this setup exceptionally powerful but somewhat cumbersome, and it can be challenging to get a clear shot while hand-holding the camera.

For best results, use a tripod to stabilize the camera and a cable release to fire the shutter.

Extension Tubes
Another way to adapt your DSLR camera for macro photography is with extension tubes, which are hollow cylindrical spacers that are attached between the lens and the camera mount to increase the extension of your lens.

They have no optics in them, so their effect depends entirely on their ability to change the lens’ minimum focus distance, or how close you can be to a subject and still focus.

The longer the extension tube, the closer you can get to a subject and still focus, and the closer you get, the higher the lens magnification becomes.

Extension tubes are frequently sold in sets of three tubes of varying sizes, and each tube can be used alone or attached to one or more additional tubes for greater length.

Their cost ranges from less than $20 to well over $100, depending on the type and brand you purchase.

The cheapest type of extension tubes are simple spacers which don’t maintain an electrical connection between the lens and the camera body.

The more expensive extension tubes are those with electrical contacts that preserve communications between lens and camera, making it possible to adjust aperture setting, exposure, etc.

Extension tubes work best with lenses of short to medium focal length. Because they can be used with any lens and can be combined to create a variety of lengths and magnifications, they’re very flexible accessories.

The only significant drawback to extension tubes is that they do create some light loss, but setting your camera to an automatic exposure mode will compensate for that.

Close-Up Filters
Close-up filters are like screw-on magnifiers for your lens.

Typically sold in sets of four, they’re simple, straightforward accessories that do one thing only: they shorten your lens’ minimum focusing distance so you can take sharp pictures of very close objects.

They work the same way that a standard magnifying glass works, by using a curved glass to alter light so that objects appear bigger.

While close-up filters are fun and affordable – a set of four can be purchased for less than $50 – they do have some limitations.

They can only be used on objects that are very close to you, they produce photos that are generally softer and less detailed, and they often create unwanted color problems like “fringing” or chromatic aberration.

If you’re serious about macro photography or plan to do a lot of it, close-up filters alone probably won’t be enough to create the setup you need.

But if you’re mainly interested in casual close-ups of details, they can be a lot of fun and often produce some beautiful, compelling images.

Macro Lenses
If you’re really interested in macro photography, there’s no real replacement for an actual macro lens.

These highly specialized, sophisticated lenses can focus from infinity to at least a 1:1 magnification factor at their closest focus setting, which means the image is reproduced life size on the sensor.

The magnification factor of macro lenses varies depending on the lens’ focal length, with some capable of achieving a magnification ratio of 5:1, or producing an image five times the size of the subject.

True macro lenses are flat field lenses, which means they lack the “field curvature,” or curve distortion at the edges of the image that’s common in general purpose lenses.

This is particularly important in macro photography, where one very small object occupies the entire image.

Most macro lenses are “prime,” which means they have a fixed focal length. Because focal length is what determines how close you must be to your subject, it’s essential to choose the one that best suits your subjects and style.

A shorter focal length of 50mm or 60mm will work fine for subjects like plants, flowers, and inanimate objects that can be photographed from a very close distance.

However, subjects like insects or wildlife that are dangerous or easily frightened must be photographed from farther away, so a longer focal length of 100mm or more is crucial.

While macro lenses excel at taking very close pictures of very small objects, that’s not the only thing they do. Macro lenses are actually very flexible and can be used for many types of photos, from food and product shots to portraits, and are widely used by many professionals.

Modern macro lenses incorporate a host of advanced focusing, vibration reduction, and light management technologies that produce amazingly sharp, clear, and distortion-free images.

All that technology doesn’t come cheap; good macro lenses range in cost from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, making them by far the most expensive equipment for macro photography.

A macro lens probably isn’t the right choice for someone who just wants to do some fun experimenting with macro photography, but for those who are serious about capturing the tiniest details of the smallest subjects and creating images of the highest quality, a macro lens is an outstanding investment.

Additional Accessories for Macro Photography
Among the most valuable accessories for macro photography are a tripod and a remote shutter release.

Keeping the camera perfectly steady is essential for macro photography, so investing in tools that eliminate hand contact as much as possible is a good idea.

Because of the typically very narrow apertures used in macro photography, getting enough light can be a major problem.

One solution is to use a ring light, a simple, affordable, and effective light that fits right over the lens of your camera.

Ring lights aren’t as powerful as a standard flash, but they provide a soft, even light over your subject.

How To Take Great Macro Photographs

Having the right basic equipment is a must, but just having good tools won’t necessarily produce good shots; the more you experiment and fine-tune your technique, the better your images will be.

Here are some important tips for getting the most out of your macro setup.

1. Shoot. A LOT. The old saying “practice makes perfect” is particularly applicable to macro photography.

Though the actual steps you take are the same ones you take in any other form of photography, the fact that you’re shooting tiny objects from a very close distance puts a new and different spin on everything.

Outdoor macro photography is famously fun and rewarding; just about everything around you is a potential subject. Plants, flowers, insects, grass, weeds, rocks, you name it – there’s some aspect of just about everything in nature that could turn into a great macro shot.

Lots of people fall in love with macro photography right in their own backyard.

But the opportunities for great macro shooting don’t stop at your doorstep – most objects you find indoors are fascinating at super-close range.

The veggies in your fridge, the knick-knacks on your shelves, even the contents of your pocket can provide a happy afternoon of macro experimentation.

Coins and currency can be great subjects.

2. Deal with the depth of field dilemma. The closer you get to your subject, the shallower the depth of field (the region of sharp focus) becomes, and this effect can make it very difficult to get your entire subject in focus.

If you’re using a point-and-shoot camera, there’s nothing you can do about this, but if you’re using a DSLR camera, you can increase the depth of field by decreasing your aperture (choosing a larger f-number).

Unfortunately, decreasing your aperture restricts light, so you may also have to decrease your shutter speed to compensate.

If your shutter speed is too slow, it’s hard to get a clear image with no blurring from camera shake, and you can quickly find yourself in a maddening photographic balancing act. You can address this to some extent by bumping up your camera’s ISO sensitivity, but this isn’t foolproof; increasing ISO inevitably increases visual “noise,” so use this adjustment with care.

The only real solution is to take lots and lots of macro shots, get thoroughly familiar with your camera’s capabilities, and figure out what combination of aperture, depth of field, and ISO work best for you.

3. Use manual focus if you can. If you’re using a point-and-shoot camera manual focus isn’t going to be an option, but if you’re using a DSLR you can get the best macro shots by doing the focusing yourself, rather than relying on your camera’s autofocus capability.

4. Stabilize your camera as much as possible. Use a tripod and a remote shutter release, or at least set up your shots so that your camera is a stable as you can make it.

The blurring effects of even the tiniest movements are exaggerated at high magnification and very close range, so keeping your camera as motionless as possible is key to getting the best shots.

If you’re not using a remote shutter release, try to shoot on the outbreath for the least jiggle.

5. Move the subject, not the camera. When you’re shooting a staged subject, get your camera fixed and don’t move it.

Once you’ve got your shot framed, light balanced, and well in focus, keep your camera exactly as it is and make any adjustments to your vignette by moving the subject.

Try arranging your subject on a surface that can be easily moved, elevated, etc. This can be a major timesaver.

6. Try the effect of different backgrounds. Obviously, this isn’t going to be an option if you’re shooting outdoors, but if you’re shooting vignettes you’ve set up on an indoor surface, try using different backgrounds – you might be surprised at the variety of effects you get.

Something as simple as a pack of colored construction paper can provide a lot of inspiration.

7. Fine-tune your composition. Don’t depend on post-processing to create your optimum image – compose your best shot in the camera.

If you’re focusing in on a pattern within your subject, move the subject around until the pattern fills the entire frame, with no gaps.

If you’re shooting a small object as a whole, position it so that there’s even space around it on all sides.

Experiment with your point of focus; sometimes the most minute change will give your subject a whole different look and create an entirely different effect.

8. Keep it tidy. When you’re shooting macro, everything shows up. Dust, pet hair, and fingerprints that you can’t even see with the naked eye suddenly become annoyingly ultra-visible in close-up, highly magnified photos.

9. Start parallel, but experiment with different angles. Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to start shooting at an angle that puts the face of your lens parallel with the most important details of your subject; this will increase your subject’s focus area and make it easier to get more of your subject in sharp detail.

But keep in mind that small changes have significant effects in macro photography, so shifting the angle from which you’re shooting even slightly can give you an entirely different picture.

10. Don’t be afraid of flash. Because macro photography involves very small apertures that restrict light, flash can be invaluable, especially when shooting outdoors with no supplemental lighting.

Just about any flash will work, but using a diffusor will give the light a less harsh, more natural look.

You can buy commercial flash diffusers, but you can actually use any translucent white material that you can put between your flash and the subject.

Macro photography is a fascinating genre that can turn into a lifetime obsession. Excellent subjects are everywhere, there’s no end to the creative possibilities, and anyone who owns a digital camera already has the equipment needed to get started.

As any macro photographer will tell you, there’s big fun in shooting small.

The post The Ultimate Macro Photography Tutorial for Beginners appeared first on ExposureGuide.com.

We all know the roots of photography lies in the black and white photograph. Think of the newspaper photographers of the 1950s with their gigantic press cameras and flashbulbs. Or, even go further back, and you have the portraitist photographer of the 1800s, who used 100-pound cameras, and dangerous flash powder, to expose the image.

In days gone by, the black and white photographer had to use a special film, special chemicals, and a rinse-wash-dry cycle in two separate phases: the process took at least hours and sometimes days.

What is a primary advantage of taking a black and white photo in the digital age?

“Time!” Today, you can quite literally take a black and white photograph, edit it, and display it publically around the world in a matter of seconds.

However, here’s the rub…

The methodical method of film- required craftsmanship, and that, more often than not, led to superior quality.

It’s so easy to bang out a b&w image today that one really has to ‘want’ quality- to give it the time and consideration that it needs.

With that in mind- What about taking a black and white photo in the digital age?

What can we do to give our digital black and white photography superior quality?

Here’s How to Achieve Superior Quality in Digital B&W

1. Slow down. Think about the process and the medium. Superb black and white imaging takes a different mindset than color photography.

2. Keep that ISO setting low. Photographers sometimes debate that digital noise is a creative effect in black and white photography- much like ‘grain’ was in the film days. That idea really doesn’t hold up, and here’s why. The grain structure of film occurred across the entire tonal range of the final print. Noise gets picky about where it wants to show up: and that is typically ‘only’ in the shadow end of the histogram scale. It’s this randomness that makes digital noise look more like a mistake versus the creative effect of film grain.

3. Don’t burn out your highlights or block up your shadows. It is so easy to let that happen, not just in the shooting phase, but even more so in the post-processing phase. Always be thinking- if my eyes can see it, how can I make it show up in my black and white photo? And then, post-process accordingly.

4. Along that same thinking, you should definitely take advantage of the camera raw format. Even some mobile phone cameras are shooting in the raw format these days. Why is the camera raw format so important? In order to understand the reason why, you have to know about dynamic range. Dynamic range is the ability to reproduce “a range of tone and brightness values from shadow to highlight”. For most of the digital age, the dynamic range of digital cameras was far less than that of black and white negative film. That is improving. Camera raw offers you the widest dynamic range from your digital image file. In that aspect, among others, it’s superior to the .jpeg format.

5. Become a student of tone. Black and white imaging is about turning colors into shades of gray. Film photographers had to develop a skill that allowed them to recognize how a color would convert to a shade of gray at the point of taking the picture. In the digital age, most of us are creating our images in color, and only later in the post-processing phase, giving some consideration as to how the colors will convert to tone if we make it into a black and white photo. Your quality of black and white photography will improve, and you will be creating better work than your fellow photographers, if you start thinking about the conversion process early on – while you are taking the photograph.

6. Ok. So, you’re going to heed that advice in section 5… how can you affect change to color, as it converts to tone, when you’re taking a digital picture in the camera raw format? You have one primary tool- light. Light can change how colors will convert to shades of gray through brightness levels. If your scene includes various colors of similar hue or saturation, chances are that they will convert to similar shades of gray. But, by changing how the light plays across those similar colors, you can increase or decrease the brightness levels, and thus achieve a fuller, more pleasing, tonal range in your final black and white photo.

7. Finally, and I know many of you won’t want to hear this. Avoid black and white conversion presets and action sets. Your best sets of tools for black and white conversion are your eyes and a histogram.

The post Taking a Black and White Photo in the Digital Age appeared first on ExposureGuide.com.

The Rule of Thirds provides a means of reliably creating balanced, visually pleasing photographic compositions based on the way the human eye naturally moves and focuses when viewing an image.

Though the principle has been used by artists throughout history, the technique was first described and given its name in the 18th century by painter, author, and engraver John Thomas Smith. Since that time the Rule of Thirds has become one of the most widely recognized and followed photographic techniques.

The Basics of The Rule Of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds is based on dividing an image into a symmetrical 3 x 3 grid like a tic tac toe board, with two equally spaced vertical lines that intersect with two equally spaced horizontal lines. Visualizing the grid overlaying your image may be challenging at first, but it quickly becomes automatic and effortless as you consistently use the Rule of Thirds to compose images.

In some cases, your camera can actually do the visualizing for you; many digital cameras have a convenient built-in function that allows the photographer to actually see the grid through the viewfinder.

This grid serves as the framework on which the subject and objects of interest are positioned. The four points where the lines intersect are the strongest focal points, and the lines themselves are the second strongest focal points.

The theory behind the rule is that placing objects of interest on the intersection points or along the lines rather than in the center of the picture will not only create a balanced and visually appealing image, it will enable viewers to interact with the image more naturally; studies have shown that most people naturally focus first on one of the intersection points rather than in the center of the image.

Using the Rule of Thirds to compose photographs ensures that viewers are immediately drawn to your subject without distraction or visual confusion. In addition, aligning horizontal or vertical lines within the image to the lines in the grid can significantly enhance visual impact and allow the eye to travel naturally around the image. This can be particularly important in landscapes, seascapes, or any image with an obvious horizon line.

Using the Rule of Thirds to compose your images not only reliably creates photos that work with rather than against the way we naturally focus, but it can also add interest and help you tell your story by giving your pictures a sense of movement, energy, and direction.

How To Use The Rule of Thirds

Once you’ve identified the points of interest in your photo, start by determining which are the most important and move around until you have the key elements positioned at or near the strongest intersection points and lines of the grid.

The objects in your image don’t have to be lined up to fit precisely on the grid; close will do, but the closer, the better. Ideally, the most important point of interest in the image will be lined up with an intersection point.

When the subject is the only point of interest in the image, the strongest position is generally the upper left intersection or the left-hand line. When there are multiple points of interest in the picture, the strongest position is often the lower right intersection.

But rules are made to be broken, and it’s always worth trying a solo subject on both grid lines to see which works best with all the other elements of the photo.

Using The Rule of Thirds in Landscapes

The Rule of Thirds can clarify the key element in a landscape photo by guiding the viewer’s eye and eliminating visual confusion.

Putting the horizon line in the center of the image tends to effectively cut the picture in half, which can stop the eye from moving naturally around the entire image.

A centered horizon line can also make it difficult for the viewer to determine which part of the picture is the primary focal point.

Aligning the horizon with one of the horizontal grid lines clearly establishes the subject and creates a sense of flow that allows the eye to travel naturally around the picture.

Whether you position the horizon in the top or bottom third of the image will play a major role in the relative importance of land (or water, in the case of seascapes) and sky; generally speaking, whichever segment of the image gets more space will be perceived as more important.

Aligning the horizon with the lower horizontal line will make the sky the primary focus, and aligning the horizon with the upper line will put the primary emphasis on sea, land or structures.

The vertical grid lines are also important in composing landscapes. Placing a large object like a structure or a tree in the center of your picture automatically makes it vie for the viewer’s attention and focus, which may not be desirable if what you’re actually trying to capture is the beautiful sunset. But placing a large object in alignment with one of the vertical lines turns it into an anchor that frames and enhances your subject.

Creating And Controlling A Sense Of Motion

The Rule of Thirds is also important in creating and controlling a sense of motion. If you’re shooting moving object, pay attention to the direction it’s moving and align it such a way that there’s more space in front of it than behind it.

For example, if you’re shooting a boat sailing toward the right, align it with the left vertical grid line. This makes it appear that it’s moving toward the center of the image and automatically leads the viewer’s eye into the picture. Aligning a right-moving object with the right vertical grid line will make it appear that the object is about to disappear and will lead the viewer’s eye out of the picture.

Using The Rule of Thirds to Emphasize Space And Help Tell A Story

Using the Rule of Thirds to align the important objects in your image can give the viewer a stronger sense of space and help tell a story.

Placing the most important object on an intersection point will tend to bring it forward and give it more impact, while secondary objects placed on vertical gridlines will tend to recede while remaining part of the action.

Using the Rule of Thirds in Portraits

The Rule of Thirds can be invaluable in shooting portraits, adding balance, symmetry and interest and even helping capture the personality of the subject.

Positioning the subject so the body is aligned with one of the vertical lines and the eyes are aligned with one of the top intersection points adds interest to the shot and eliminates the “mugshot” effect that center positioning sometimes creates.

Whether you align the subject with the right or left vertical line depends to a great extent on which direction the subject is looking.

Aligning to the left vertical line with the eyes at the top left intersection point is typically the most appealing composition if the subject is looking straight ahead or to the right, but if the subject is looking left, try aligning the body the right with the eyes with the right top intersection point.

Aligning the subject with the line that’s opposite to the way they’re looking will lead the viewer’s eyes into the image rather than out of it.

If you’re shooting a group, you can use both the upper and lower horizontal grid lines to align your subjects.

When Not to Use The Rule of Thirds – And How To Use It After the Shoot

The Rule of Thirds is a great tool, but it’s not the right choice for every photo.

There are times when using the Rule of Thirds will actually weaken or defeat the purpose of your composition. In some cases, centering a subject is the best option; it can help demonstrate a sense of size or space, and centering is an effective way to emphasize the symmetry of a subject.

Headshots should generally be centered horizontally, but using the Rule of Thirds grid for vertical alignment can be useful.

Positioning the eyes along the top horizontal line will generally create a sense of balance and keep the subject from looking lost in the frame.

If you feel an existing image could benefit from the Rule of Thirds, you can always use your trusty editing program to achieve a balanced and harmonious composition.

Many popular image editing programs, including Photoshop, incorporate a Rule of Thirds guide in their cropping function.

If your image editor doesn’t offer this capability you can still use the Rule of Thirds on an existing image by visualizing the grid over your image and cropping it so that the major points of interest are aligned with the grid lines and intersections.

A Valuable Guideline To Be Used With Creative Discretion

The Rule of Thirds is one of the best and most reliable composition techniques, and in many cases using it will result in a stronger, more balanced, and more engaging photo. But like all rules, it’s made to be broken when the situation calls for it. Consider it a guideline, use it when it’s appropriate, but always trust in your own creative judgment.

The post The Rule of Thirds appeared first on ExposureGuide.com.

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Step 1

Open up the image you want to work on, press Command-1 (PC: Control-1) or double-click the Zoom Tool to bring the image to 100%. Select the upper left corner of the Color Picker (the whitest white). Then select the Brush Tool B and adjust the Hardness to anywhere between 0-20%, and make the Size just a little smaller than the width of the tooth you are working on (we made the Size larger on the front teeth and smaller on the back teeth). Adjust the Opacity to 18%.

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Step 2

With the Brush Tool, quickly go over the surface of each tooth, one at a time. In this example, the lower teeth are clearly visible and well lit, so we will also go over each of the lower teeth. (In most cases the lower teeth are in the shadow of the upper teeth and it looks unnatural to make the lower teeth as white as the upper teeth.)

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Step 3

If you decide the teeth should be whiter (and we do in this case), go over each tooth a second time. (If you prefer, you can start over and start with a higher Opacity. We prefer to whiten in stages in order to control how much white is applied). If you make a mistake by going outside line of the teeth, use the History Brush Tool Y to clean it up.

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Step 4

Select the Clone Stamp Tool S at 30% Opacity and clean up any discolorations on the teeth and gums and any bright, distracting light reflections. It’s personal preference whether or not to have light reflections on the teeth and gums. In the first example, we eliminated all reflections. In the second example, we brought back some of reflections using the History Brush Tool at 30% Opacity and 0% Hardness.

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Step 5

Zoom out to see more of the face, and while looking at the image, click at the top of the History Window (in order to see the image as it looked when you first opened it), then click again on the last bar in the History Window, going back and forth a few times (so you can see the “Before” and “After”). (REMEMBER: do not perform any other action until you click on the last bar of the History Window and its highlighted again, otherwise, you will erase everything that was showing on the History Panel!) Do the teeth look better and are they still natural (if natural is your goal)? If you decide they look over-done, use the History Brush Tool at about 30% Opacity to bring back some of the original image.

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Before & After Whitening Teeth

The post Whitening Teeth appeared first on ExposureGuide.com.

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Step 1

Open up your original photo file that you wish to apply the zoom to and create two duplicate layers of your Background layer. You do this by dragging your Background layer to the Create A New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette or simply press Command-J (PC: Control-J) twice. Then, hide the top layer (Layer 1 copy) by clicking on the Eye icon next to it. Then, you want to rename the middle Layer (Layer 1) to Zoom.

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Step 2

To create the zoom blur effect, select the middle layer (Zoom). Then go to the Filter menu, under Blur, and apply the Radial Blur filter to this layer (FILTER > BLUR > RADIAL BLUR). In the dialogue box, click the “zoom” radio button. You’ll want the zoom effect to be fairly intense, so experiment with the slider until you’re pleased with the result in the preview box.

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Step 3

Next turn on the top Layer (Layer 1 copy), then add a Layer Mask and fill it with black. You do this by clicking on the Layer Mask icon while holding the Option Key (PC: Alt key). Holding the Option/Alt key will automatically fill the Layer Mask with black.

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Step 4

Now you’re ready to bring in your background. Select a Soft Brush from the Tools Palette, and choose a brush size that you feel will give you the best control at revealing the background image. Change the output channel to white by pressing X on your keyboard and begin painting out the background image… where you want the sharp, clean image to appear. To add back in any of the “blur”, change the Output channel back to Black by pressing X again, and continue painting (carefully, please!).

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Before & After Zoom Blurring

The post Zoom Blur Effect appeared first on ExposureGuide.com.

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Composition Tips

Learn how to choose the right aperture to ensure your flowers are in focus and tack sharp and how to set up your shot to create pleasing compositions.

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Learn by Example

Learn by example with 12 example photos. Each example includes the camera settings that were used, as well as a complete story of how the image was made and post-processed in Photoshop.

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Image Editing Techniques

How to post-process your photos with Adobe Photoshop to reduce noise, increase contrast and saturation, make small adjustments to exposure, and make your images super sharp.

The post Wildflower Photography appeared first on ExposureGuide.com.

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Step 1

Open the photo and zoom in so both eyes are visible on your screen.

Working on the Background Layer, change the Foreground Color to the whitest white by clicking the cursor on the upper left corner of the Color Picker screen.

Select the Brush Tool B, adjusting the Size of the Brush [ or ] (left bracket key decreases the brush size; the right bracket key increases the brush size) to a little smaller than the size of the whites of the eyes where they form a triangle at the corners.

The Hardness of the Brush is 0% and the Opacity is 20%.

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Step 2

Using the Brush Tool, click and drag the cursor over the white parts of each eye once. It’s okay to go outside of the line of the eye and over the iris somewhat.

If you feel the eye whites are still not bright enough, you can either change the Opacity to a higher percentage and start over, or click and drag the cursor over each area one more time using the same settings on the Brush (which is what we did in this example – the total Opacity was 40% because we went over each area twice at 20%).

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Step 3

Select the History Brush Tool Y, making the Brush Size smaller, generally about one-third smaller than the white triangles of the eyes.

The Hardness of the History Brush Tool is anywhere between 0-15%. The Opacity is set to about 30%.

Click, click, click around the outer edges of the areas you just whitened, which would be along the eyelash/eyelid line, as well as the iris in the center of the eye. You will click numerous times until you get enough of the shadow back around where the eye whites meet the upper eyelids where there are natural shadows.

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Step 4

Zoom out so you can see more of the face, and while looking at the image, click at the top of the History Window (so you can see the image as it looked when you first opened it), then click again at the last bar in the History Window, going back and forth a few times (so you can see the “Before” and “After”).

REMEMBER: do not do any other action that will change the History Window until the last bar of the History Window is highlighted again, otherwise, you will erase everything you have done that was on the History Panel!

Do the eyes look better and are they still natural? If they look good but you still see some distractions like blood vessels, uneven coloration or reflections of light (which happens usually at the inside corners of the eyes and sometimes on the bottom eyelids), go to Step 5.

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Step 5

To remove any other distractions, select the Clone Tool S. Adjust the Size to be smaller or larger, depending on where on the eye you are working. Change the Opacity to about 30% and set the Hardness to between 0-20%.

Use the Clone Tool as needed to clean up the distractions, keeping in mind not to completely remove the shadows created by the eyelids. This little shadow keeps the eyes looking natural. If necessary, you can add a bit more shadow by using the Burn Tool O, with the Exposure at about 15% and Hardness at 0%.

Again, use the History Panel to check the “Before” and “After” appearance, like you did in Step 4.

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Before & After Whitening Eyes

The post Whitening Eyes appeared first on ExposureGuide.com.

Color Temperature

To understand the concept of White Balance, you need to first understand the concept of color temperature.

Color temperature is a characteristic of visible light.

It provides a method of describing these characteristics and is measured in Kelvin (K).

A light having higher color temperature will have more blue light or larger Kelvin value as compared to lower light, which has a smaller Kelvin value.

The following table shows the color temperature of various sources of light.

You must have noticed some photos turn out with an orange/yellow cast if shot under tungsten lighting or a bluish cast if shot under fluorescent lights.

This occurs because each source of light possesses a different color temperature. A digital camera can measure the colors in the red, green, and blue light of the spectrum, as reflected to its sensors.

In a photo taken under the midday sun, there is the whole spectrum of light (which makes up “white” sunlight). Under these conditions, the colors in an image appear nearest to the “true” colors.

An image taken under tungsten bulb (a normal household incandescent bulb) without adjusting the digital camera for white balance produces the dull orange shade as it spreads the biased light.

Similarly, an image taken under the fluorescent lighting produces a brighter bluish cast.

However, it is possible to shift the color in the desirable direction, provided you have a good understanding of your digital camera and its settings.

Since different sources of light have different color hues, a picture taken with a normal white balance under artificial lighting conditions transmits the low heat to the camera’s sensor.

This light touches the red bits of the spectrum, which results in dull yellow or orange shades in the picture.

Though the human eyes can automatically adjust to different lights and color temperatures to sense the right color, a camera needs to be adjusted to different lights for accurate color reproduction.

By adjusting the white balance setting of your digital camera, you can alter the required light or temperature to produce the most accurate colors in a digital image.

Auto – The Auto setting helps in adjusting the white balance automatically according to the different lighting conditions, but you can try other modes to get better results.

Tungsten – This mode is used for light under a little bulb like tungsten, and it is often used while shooting indoors. The tungsten setting of the digital camera cools down the color temperature in photos.

Fluorescent – This mode is used for getting brighter and warmer shots while compensating for the cool shade of fluorescent light.

Daylight – This mode is for the normal daylight setting while shooting outdoors. Many cameras do not have the Daylight mode.

Cloudy – This mode is ideal for while shooting on a cloudy day. This is because it warms up the subject and surroundings and allows you to capture better shots.

Flash – The flash mode is required when there is inadequate lighting available. This mode helps pick the right White Balance under low light conditions.

Shade – A shaded location generally produces cooler or bluer pictures, hence you need to warm up the surroundings while shooting shaded objects.

You can also adjust your digital camera manually by setting a white object as the reference point.

This is done to guide the camera how white the object would look in a particular shot. It is advisable to manually adjust the white balance when taking a picture to compensate for the changing lighting conditions.

As the daylight changes during early morning and late evening hours, the varied light intensity is easily perceived by the camera. Therefore, you need to correct the white balance regularly while shooting during these times of the day.

To manually set the white balance in your image, you first point your camera at a pure white object, set the exposure and focus. Now, activate the white balance on the object by pressing the button. It may take a few seconds for the camera to perceive the shot, but it will this color setting until the next white balance is performed.

Some people consider it amateurish to use predetermined settings, when in fact there may be times when we are in a rush and cannot adjust everything manually.

Also, remember that using these modes will teach you about photography and ideal settings for different conditions.

If in doubt, you can use Auto mode, then adjust the settings manually. Auto settings are there to be used so try them all, and become familiar with what each one does.

The post White Balance appeared first on ExposureGuide.com.