Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
Nisi is best known for its high–quality filters. The company recently changed its name to Nisi Optics, showing a new and extended vision geared towards producing quality lenses.
The Nisi 15mm f4 has been long in the making, but these days finally hit the market. The lens is available in full-frame mounts for Nikon Z, Canon RF, and Sony E. It also comes with a Fuji APS-C X mount. The lens offers a whopping 112 degree of field of view for full-frame cameras, which equals a 14,5mm focal length.
John Weatherby has developed a panel for Photoshop that will help you speed up your editing workflow. There are quite a few panels out there. The first one was probably made by Tony Kuyper, who created luminosity masks back in 2006. Other than that, Infinite Tools, Lumenzia, and Raya Pro are probably the best-known panels.
These panels’ prime function is to create luminosity masks. The task is quite complex for someone who is not a Photoshop master. And even for them, these panels save time. For example, light masks will create a mask for the brightest pixels in an image. A good use case to understand this is when you want to reduce some of the highlights of a river white-water. You would select a good light mask and apply a curves layer that pulls down those highlights.
I took John’s Pro Panel for a spin and tested some of its actions.
A few days back, I compared Photoshop and Luminar AI Beta’s sky replacement feature. When I turned to Luminar AI, I struggled with a mountain that was too warm for my taste. It turns out, I managed to overlook an important sky replacement tool; the masking brush. In this article, I will show you how to use masking to improve the sky replacement algorithm. Further, I also have a closer look at what Skylum calls Augmented Sky.
Skylum’s goal with Luminar AI is to create a processing software for the casual user who doesn’t want to spend hours editing an image. The developers have designed the software to help photographers make quick and precise adjustments using the power of AI.
It’s time to employ masks and play around in Augmented sky.
It is not trivial, but with some trickery, you can fool Photoshop’s Sky Replacement AI to replace more than just the sky. You could, for example, swap water as well. Here are the steps you’d need to take to use the sky replacement tool to swap water.
The ‘Learning by doing’ philosophy first emerged back in the 1930s and is a valid paradigm. In photography, this probably means ‘Learning by mistaking.’ I see daily articles with titles like “four mistakes landscape photographers should avoid”, or “avoid these mistakes to become a better photographer“. As a teacher, I think that this approach is 100% wrong.
Actually, quite the opposite; I would advise photographers to make as many mistakes as they possibly can. And the graver, the better. Always go for the most annoying and bitter mistakes! This is the fastest way to learn. Of course, the idea is to learn from your mistakes and not keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Let’s have a look at some delicious mistakes that will take your photography to the next level.
Roger Brendhagen has mastered the art of capturing wildlife and birds with backlight. It takes a lot of planning, experience, and patience to nail these shots. And while this is not about the gear, it helps to know the camera and how to dial in the optimal settings for each shot.
Roger was kind enough to share his process, gear, and techniques with DIYP readers. He will also share some of his favorite images and tell the story behind his most cherished shot.
When I work with an image, I want to create something pleasing to the eyes, a piece of art with a wow-factor. I desire to produce a scene that takes the viewer on a journey from foreground to background.
When it comes to editing, it really helps to have a guiding template. It helps the creative process. Many call this a creative vision. That said, I would never advocate or introduce rules for landscape photography. My photography’s core motivation is the freedom to express myself in whatever artistic fashion I find fulfilling. It should be the same for you.
For me, though, I have always found it helpful to have some guidelines that outline the direction I am heading. Walking blindfolded isn’t something I enjoy. I have adopted three main principles for my post-processing, and I will explain each of them in detail.
Landscape images with a strong narrative add a dimension to a scene. Very often, the viewer can relate to the story and the emotions it conveys. Elements in the photo that contribute to the narrative also spark the viewers’ imagination. There is much truth in the saying: “A photo is worth a thousand words.”
There are plenty of ways to add a storytelling element to a landscape scene. Let’s have a look at some of the tools we have.
Is there a secret formula for success? Is it a five-step program? Or perhaps even ten steps? What does it take? Will external motivation alone help you reach your goals? I don’t think so. I firmly believe that internal motivation or inner drive is the key to almost everything.
But, before we move on, what is success? Is it to have millions of followers on Instagram, or is it something different entirely? I will discuss that in more detail at the end of the article.
I have tested Photoshop’s new sky replacement feature which yielded some very nice results. But, how does it compare with Luminar? Skylum was the first software developer to implement an AI algorithm that swapped a boring sky with a nice one with no effort. Of course, this has caused some controversy and plenty of discussion among photographers.
Skylum has kindly allowed us to test the beta version of the upcoming Luminar AI. I decided to pit the two pieces of software against each other. I did so with some challenging photos to see how they par and what are the differences if any.
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