Abandoned stone house, County Kildare, Ireland
I created this image using the multi-step approach I teach on my workshops, which I feel is crucial for any modern digital photographer: Camera/Composition/Post-Processing Continue reading POTD: Abandoned House
I came across these old jars and bottles in the window of the old one-room schoolhouse (now a museum) in Florissant, Colorado. I used my Nikon 1 V2 and 10mm f/2.8 1-Nikkor lens to capture the image, and then I processed it in Photoshop CS6 (with layers) using two steps: Continue reading Photo of the Day: Apothecary
I got several comments on yesterday’s post asking how I was able to create the background color and lighting effects in my otherwise boring head shot. After all, I only used a single light for the image and the background was a blank wall about five feet behind me. The trick I used was Tiffen’s Dfx 3 software, which I think is an indispensable tool for home studio photographers.
First of all, it’s important to note that I used an 85mm lens to take this image; doing so threw the background completely out of focus. That’s desirable for head shots where you want to tweak the background color/look later. I processed the RAW image (Nikon NEF file) in Lightroom 4.2 to open up the shadows a bit (note: click on any image below to see a larger view).
Then I sent the image to Tiffen Dfx 3. Side note: when using Dfx3 from Lightroom, choose Adobe RGB 1998 as your color space, as ProPhoto RGB may, in rare circumstances, cause color banding within the Dfx3 environment. Continue reading Using Tiffen Dfx3 to Create Custom Studio Lighting Effects
You can really have fun creating artistic images by using textures. But did you know that you can take things further by combining texture layers? In this image, I used three texture layers with different blending modes in Photoshop to create the final product. Continue reading Hot Tip: Using Multiple Texture Layers
I love adding textures to my photos when I want a little creative spark. Textures can be really helpful on shots taken in overcast or mid-day conditions. The fine folks at Flypaper Textures have just released a new texture pack, “August Painterly,” which has 40 new high-resolution texture files.
To learn how you can apply textures to your images, check out my video tutorial, Layers of Creativity. I’ll walk you through all the steps needed to blend textures into your images.