Photoshop Introductory

Photo-shop Elements

There are people who write and ask me quiet often about what type of software I use to edit with or what I recommend. Well there is a simple answer Adobe…

Adobe picture editing software is by far the best choice for the amateur and pro alike. There is no other editing tool that has the number of tools, ease of use, organization, and work-flow that adobe provides. Often people tell me they are looking for a good editing program that will also allow them to do more with their photographs. For the average based consumer, photo-taker, or beginning photo enthusiast I highly recommend Adobe Photoshop Elements as the program to start with. There are a number of free programs on the web these days and offer some in the way of editing, but they really do not compare to a real photo editing software once you learn to use it. There is one program that compares to Photoshop and that is Gimp, it is somewhat harder to use than Photoshop but, it does have many of the same type tools, and allows much of the same creative freedom of a professional based program.

Photoshop Elements on average cost about $100 and it is worth every single penny, I feel this is not only a great consumer based program but, a necessity for any professional as well.

Opening the program for the first time

The first panel that appears when you open Elements is a small window with a couple of choices in that panel; we are working on editing right now so we click the edit tab. I have to admit the first time you see the user interface in Photoshop it can seem somewhat overwhelming but, with a little effort and some computer skills you will be breezing through it.

To edit a picture you now need to go to the File tab at the top and click open, choose the folder/file you wish to edit and open it. From here you need to determine what exactly you want to do to the picture. If this is your first time using Photoshop don’t expect to get a masterpiece, but I recommend pursuing through the many filters and menu options to start getting an idea of just what the basic presets can do. From here on the very left side of the screen you should have a list of tools, these will become you best friend in photo editing. Some of the tools you see are your selection tools, Cloning and Healing tools, Brush Options, Type Tool, Eraser, Dodge and Burn just to name a few. If you right click on many of these little tools, you find that there is more than one option for most of them. I also recommend playing around here with these and start getting a feel for what some of these do.

From here you basically need only to know what you want to do to the picture, if there is a lighting problem, color problem, tone, or you just want to enhance the photo in someway you now have a very powerful tool to help you do that.

The reason I am such a believer in Photoshop Elements and believe it is a necessity to even a pro is not the editing tools it provides which are great, but it is the creative options it has that Creative Suite and Lightroom do not. Such as presets for Collages, Calendars, Slideshows, and many more. Not to mention most of the editing tools carry over to Adobe’s pro software, and gives you a great head start if you ever make that leap. In my opinion it is the best place for photo enthusiast of all levels to start their editing experience. Please direct questions to anthonyposton@hotmail.com, find me on Facebook or reply to this post. Thank you Anthony Poston Photography

Equipment Recommendations

Loosely basing this short article on the previous blog entry The Right Equipment, I am going to offer my opinion on some of today’s equipment.

What I would look for:

· A camera of at least 10 megapixel, to ensure sharp images and the ability to reasonably crop images and maintain a high resolution.

· A camera that has anti shake built in or anti shake built into the lenses this helps ensure much sharper images when taking hand-held shots.

· A camera that allows you to have complete creative control over every image when set to manual mode. This meaning, ISO, White Balance, EV correction, Shutter Speed, and aperture primarily.

· Ability to go from auto focus to manual focus very easily, along with exposure and focus lock.

· A camera that allows you to set you focal area from a very small area to very wide.

· Ability to shoot bracketed shots, with as wide ranges of selection in that the better. This meaning ability to shoot 3, 5 or more images at 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 EV steps.

These are the things I can think of right of hand, and I believe some of the most important things when considering a new camera. Of course there is always budget! I make this recommendation, 1^st find the camera you want and then worry about the money. If you cannot afford the camera you really want right now, I recommend saving up your money until you can. In the end you will be much happier, and if you get the fever in your blood you’re going to eventually purchase the camera you really want anyway. I do recommend entry level cameras for beginners but, from there get what you want.

Something else I would like to mention here is a question I often am faced with. More megapixel means better picture s right? Not necessarily, if you go with 10mp you should be fine; the primary thing is learning how to correctly use the equipment. My honest opinion anything over 18 megapixel is really a waste of money. The only real benefit you are going to get is the ability to enlarge your photos to massive sizes. The image quality and resolution will change very little if any beyond that point. Anthony Poston Photography

The Right Equipment

I have so many people ask me what type of equipment I use, and more often than that to review a piece of equipment they are thinking of purchasing or already have purchased. Something I do not mind doing at all, and will continue to do when asked.

This inspired the idea for this article. I would like to start out by taking you through some of the steps I take when before I purchase a new piece of equipment, whether it is a camera body, lens, flash or anything else related thereto. I know a lot of other photographers and the types of equipment they use and have used in the past. Some have been taking pictures since before I was born, and I put a lot of stock into their opinions on certain brands. If you’re like me I usually start with a very wide range of equipment I would like to have and then narrow it down from there by, budget, need, and quality along with what I like. If I have used a certain brand or piece of equipment with success; I tend to stick with it and recommend it to others.

If it is something I have never owned, or know anyone else who has owned a similar model I turn to the internet and places like DP Review, Consumer Reports, along with photography blogs and forums. There are tons of websites that review equipment everyday some are motivated by sponsorship and some not. I like to look at sites that sell the equipment and see if they have real customer reviews these tend to be very informative. I am a stickler on getting the best product I can for the amount of money I want to spend. I spend hours and sometimes days reviewing equipment specs, reviews, and reports. Some might say I overdo it when it comes to my research of certain items but, that is just how I am. I understand that all people are not that way. That is why I recommend sites like DP Review; this is a very informative and mostly unbiased review of almost any piece of photography equipment on the market today.

Nothing really substitutes the use of the equipment by people you know. There is going to be problems with all any brand of equipment from time to time. Even advice from experienced photographers can often be biased though, as you use a piece of equipment and perform well for you, or does not. There can be factors such as handling, the conditions it was used under, or just a dedication to a particular brand.

So what would I recommend in today’s market? Unfortunately that question is very hard to answer. The digital age has changed the face of photography so much, and it is an ever changing market. Most all manufacturers are focusing a lot of attention on consumer based DSLR cameras, (Some more than others); which I don’t see as a major problem unless there professional lines suffer from it. Some of the supposed new DSLR cameras are as easy to use as a point and shoot, in essence that is all they are with a detachable lens. If you are serious about your photography like I am don’t settle for cheaper equipment and hope to get the same results as you will from a professional line, because you never will. You might get lucky but, in order to consistently produce high quality images you will need high quality equipment to do so. In saying that, when it comes time to make your purchase make it based on research, ask questions, but also buy what you like if that makes sense. If you do not like your equipment you will never achieve the same results from it that you would with that you feel comfortable with.

I am going to mention this, just because a piece of equipment is very expensive does not mean it is always the best choice, and just because it is a popular brand the same does apply. Don’t pay for a name, get the most for your money by using the techniques I mentioned above. I hope this helps anyone who is thinking of a new purchase and if not, hit me up and I will try to help you with your next purchase. Thank you for reading my blog! Anthony Poston Photography

Understanding Your Equipment (Part 2)

Hopefully the last little article helped you with understanding the light meter on your camera and the metering settings. Once you get a pretty good grasp on this it will go a long way to helping insure your images have the desired exposure.

I had recommended setting your camera to auto and keeping a log of the images you took so you could go back and review the Meta data from those files. In the groupings notice how your camera decided in Auto mode to use certain F-Stop numbers, Shutter Speeds. Typically on auto under good lighting circumstances your camera will try to bump up the shutter speed to compensate for excess light and bring in the correct exposure. Under bad circumstances it brings it down and typically uses the lowest aperture for the given lens. These will be your prime elements when composing shots, ensuring that you get exactly what you want. ISO, and white balance play a pretty good part in what you are trying to achieve but, we are going to address those later on.

Let’s get a few little details out of the way right now. These are some things you need to know were and how on your camera to change. First will be your shutter speed, it should be dictated by a some type of thumb wheel on most SLR’s. Then Aperture should also have a dedicated thumb wheel but, I know on some DSLR cameras the same wheel changes both of these usually while holding another button down to adjust one or the other. (Refer to your owner’s manual). On just about every DSLR I have ever seen these settings are interchangeable for SS and F-Stop Values. You should also have an independent ISO button somewhere on the camera body and possibly a white balance. I think most DSLR’s have the independent ISO setting but, on some the white balance may be a menu setting. Once you have found this start learning how each one can change the metered exposure on your light meter. Higher F-Stop numbers, higher shutter speeds and lower ISO numbers are going to bring your exposure down. Thus the opposite is true for bringing the exposure of your image up. The trick is finding a happy median sometimes especially when shooting hand held shots.

Some points I want to hit here are: a higher F-Number (meaning a closed aperture) brings more of the image into focus. Lower apertures are going to let more light in onto your sensor and thus the focal area is reduced as a cause and effect. Higher shutter speeds are going to allow you to capture faster moving objects, and slower ones are going to show movement, and in the case of handheld shots it might be your movement if you have it set to low. (This is the prime reason I recommend using a tripod for any shots that it is feasible to do so, especially landscapes). Higher ISO values are going to bring more noise into the image or a film grain effect. Depending on the camera, how well it reduces noise and how much noise you can stand in your finished image, will dictate how you use this setting. Under low light situations were you have dialed the aperture, your shutter speed all the way to down and you still have an under exposure with great loss of detail bump up the ISO to get more light in. It may cause a lot of noticeable grain in the image but, it is better than going to low on your shutter speed and having a blurry image.

I am going to touch on white balance a bit just because it does affect exposure values. White Balance is basically color temperature. As the day wears on color temperatures change, as the seasons change they change. The color temperature changes in the shade, and under different types of lighting situations. It is an ever changing thing to be honest. The only step I recommend at this point is to leave your camera’s white balance setting to auto unless you have a highly noticeable blue or red hue to your image. The blue means you need to bring your white balance up and red means it needs to come down. We will worry more about this later don’t put to much thought into right now.

Thank you as always and pleas visit anthonypostonphotography.com for more information email me at anthonyposton@hotmail.com. Find Anthony Poston Photography on Facebook and Twitter. Please visit our other blog Bankhead National Forest (bankheadphotos.blogspot.com)

Understanding Your Equipment (Part 1)

This article is going to focus in on our equipment and the value of knowing how to use it correctly. For those who may have recently purchased their very first SLR camera or for those who have had one but never really took the time to really learn all the functions I hope this article is helpful. Maybe even those who are experts might find some useful information in this article as well. As usual feedback is very welcome, and I am always open to learn something I might have left out or looked over please feel free to email me or post a comment and point that out to me.

The new camera comes and your blood is rushing, your heart is pounding like a kid on Christmas tearing through the packaging to reveal your new jewel. (Well that is me in most cases). There is nothing wrong with grabbing your camera out and setting it to auto and go to snapping shots. This will and can be very useful information later about how your camera reacts to different situations. I shoot everything in the manual setting, because I believe this is were your camera can operate at its best and produce the best images possible. There is a lot to say about aperture and shutter speed mode but, it is my true feelings that if you want to squeeze all the juice out of your equipment’s ability only allow it to make the most insignificant decisions you can.

Your camera fresh out of the box comes with a user manual, reading it will be helpful depending on the brand of your equipment some are more helpful than others. This is a good step toward understanding what your equipment can and cannot do. Buying a book is another route and there again depending on who wrote the book your experience will vary. Through my eyes getting your equipment out and shooting with it day in and day out is not only going to be the best way to learn how to use it but, also the most valuable way to remember and apply real world techniques to your work.

Get out there and shoot, if you’re a newbie, set it to auto and expose several hundred pictures over a couple of weeks under different circumstances. By that I mean different lighting circumstances. Different times of the day, under harsh lighting conditions, and under what you think are better lighting situations. As you gather these photos over whatever period of time you take. Arrange what you consider to be the best ones and the worst ones into categories along those lines. Study the Meta information your camera used to compile the images. You’re ISO, Shutter Speeds, Aperture (F-Stop), the white balance and so on.

You should start to get a picture of how your camera reacts to different lights, and under different circumstances. Then make the switch, switch over to manual and go to town. Basically today’s cameras tell you what your exposure values are just by metering a scene. Find the meter setting on your camera, this is usually wide, center-weighted, and spot metering. While your camera is on and the screen is displayed hit your display setting until you have the most information showing that your camera will display. You should see at the top a light meter. This is in my opinion one of DSLR’s best functions, and will become your best friend on the camera. Set your metering to center-weighted or spot and push the shutter button about half way down. This will allow you to meter the light values in or near the center of your shot. The light meter on your screen should display something like a 0 in the center and then 1,2,3 to the right and the same to the left. If you arrow is moving to the right of the zero this is indicating an over exposure and if it is moving to the left it is indicating the under exposing of the light you are metering. Understanding this is probably one of the biggest steps to understanding not only your equipment but, the age of digital photography as a whole. (As a side note, and this is were everyone’s equipment will vary. Just because your meter is showing perfect exposure does not always equal perfect exposure in the final image. Adjusting shutter speeds, aperture, and ISO during the actual image taking process will help ensure you get the best pictures. This meaning your camera may sometimes show under or over exposure values in the meter in order to produce the best exposure in the final image. This will vary, and this is what I mean by understanding your equipment.) This may sound overwhelming but, it will become second nature if you really apply yourself. When you do in the end the effort will show through greatly.

I am going to try to keep these articles short for now and continue this article at a later date in order to allow the information therein to better set with you the reader. Thank you very much for your time and come back in the near future for the follow up to this article. anthonypostonphotography.com

Finding your image

When I leave the house I always have my camera with me. Generally in seat right beside me, or in the bag behind the seat. Just in case I see or happen upon a situation or a moment that would make a great image. I have always done this since I became serious about taking photographs and it is something I still do day in and day out.

When I first became serious about my work I would find myself taking multiple photos nearly every single day. Not missing what I thought were great shots. In those days there was a different type of passion in the newness of the moment and my new DSLR at that time. I would often find upon my arrival home and after uploading my images what I thought was a great shot at the moment was hardly that. I still take pictures almost every day of one thing or another and it is always a learning experience. I would consider myself passionate about photography and it is something I truly love to do. I certainly take fewer images now than I did in the early days of my work. Some might say the newness has worn off and that may be true to some aspects. I feel as you grow as a photographer and learn more, you tend to realize what makes a great shot therefore limiting the number pictures you take. It is not a lack of passion at all, if anything it is a greater passion to take the best images you possibly can. It is that same passion that drives me to try to learn more and what drives me to find the most beautiful subjects to share.

If I had to say there is one single element that helps in finding good images, and separating the good from the not so good it would be understanding light. There is a pretty hefty dose of a number of elements and to pin down one is kind of hard to do. There is technique, experience, composition, and the quality of your equipment to name a few. I do feel that understanding how light affects every single shot you take in a major way is one very large step that will help you.

If you are a camera pointer, snap snap snap, or if you are hesitant about your shots not really sure if it is the right on. There is something I recommend everyone who has not ever done so try. Take a day, or a couple of days to really notice the light, and how it changes from one moment to the next. Once you really start understanding what you are looking at you will find yourself doing this everyday or I know I do. I know that may sound kind of un realistic, “How light changes” , but it does. It is really amazing to me how much light changes from minute to minute every day, day in and day out.

I would end up writing a book here if I continued on the way I would like to. But I am going to try to break this down into some easy steps for everyone to understand. As a photographer, one thing will be true as long as you are really serious about doing it, and that is time is out the window. Get up before the sun, prepare for the morning light on days you know there will be an opportunity for great shots.

Notice as the sun comes up how the entire sky starts to brighten this is the birth of your daily light, even on rainy days your have the same thing just at a slower pace. At this point you almost have no light at all to work with. Then early as the sun does come up there you have a low light situation, and from there you go from great light to really harsh light in a pretty short period of time. I could not consider this a true and complete explanation without mentioning nighttime. I am not going to focus on that right now, it is kind of in a ball park all by itself.

As the sun moves across the sky the light changes obviously because the angle is continuously changing. One thing you probably do not realize though is that the color temperature is continuously changing too (This being your White Balance). Then you have so many factors at work clouds, buildings, your equipment and how it handles each situation differently.

One of the best ways to watch light and how it changes is to notice a stationary object or a moving object at the same during the day. Notice how the shadow is cast, and how bright the shadow is that is being cast. How fast is the shadow changing position? Another way is your camera, spot meter and area throughout the day to see the differences in your exposure values. Expose a couple of different images and use your color graph to indicate how much the color is changing in the object or the color that is being cast on the subject. This could be anything from a post or a flower pot to a car or a mountain side.

Notice the elements of the sky and your surroundings, is there clouds and were they are, will the sun soon disappear behind them. Will it soon be blocked by a tree, shrub, building or anything else? These are just a few of things that will help you understand how to use the light you have to your advantage for the different type of images you are taking.

As my basic rule of thumb these are the types of images under the given light I try to take and avoid.

The early morning light is really your best light for Landscape and certain nature shots; if you can use it correctly it is softer and more brilliant. You often have fog coming from the ground and or water at certain times of the year and the color temperatures this lighting situation creates is almost unmatchable under most all other situations. If you are on vacation, and want some great representative photos to show off don’t stay in the bed until 7 or 8 o’clock. Find your area the day before or a certain area you can ride through, get up before dawn and arrive. Chances are in certain vacationing locations you will not be alone (especially if it is a great spot to shoot).

As the morning wears on the light becomes much harsher, and the mid morning to noon light is not a photographer’s dream lighting situation for almost any shots (Unless it is Cloudy) but right now we are talking a typical sunny day maybe some clouds. Around noon as the light from the sun is coming down almost directly overhead, this time of the day into the early evening makes great lighting situations for action shots, and nature shots. Nature meaning animals, birds, butterflies. You typically can dial up higher ISO values without getting as much noise in your pictures and higher shutter speeds; while dialing your aperture (F-Stops) down to increase the detail in the picture.

{As a side note here and the reason I mention it is because I use to never know what people meant when they were talking about dialing your aperture down, until I figured it out myself and then realized what there were talking about was turning up my F-Stop as I use to refer to it. Truly your are dialing your aperture down, F-5 the opening in the lens is allowing a pretty good bit of light to enter the lens, by shutting the aperture down like F-20 you have narrowed the hole the light is entering.}

Anyway! For those who did not know

As the evening light sets in you typically get some pretty good light here to for Landscape and some nature pictures. The main difference between this light and your early light is that it typically produces much warmer color temperature than your morning light does. When shooting in areas of high elevation you tend to get more smogging and or hazing in the distance than in the morning. This can be helped with an HD filter.

My favorite days are rainy days, one reason is because I love to shoot running water i.e. waterfalls. This is my method, and I love to hike into the woods in the rain, and get under a bluff shelter or rock shelter and prepare my equipment. Deep in the woods, usually deep down I a canyon somewhere looking for a waterfall. The rain sounds so great, and the slight chill in even the warmer summer air is lessened by the downpours. But the primary reason is for the clouds that cover the sky and the real life light box effect they create. You can run much longer shutter speeds with much lower aperture values under these circumstances. This is a great light for a lot of other situations as well, were you have little to no shadow on any of your subjects. On a cloudy day, I mean pretty much the entire sky is cloudy walk outside and notice the pretty much non existence of shadows. In these situations you don’t have the sun over exposing on area or feature while the shadow underexposes another feature right next to it. (Example a barn with a tin roof) the light is much more even throughout on these light box days and for the pictures I enjoy taking the most this is my favorite light. Thank you for reading and please visit anthonypostonphotography.com