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Michael Comeau

No, AI editing will not ruin photography

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AI is the #1 buzzword in the digital photography world.

Skylum, which has ridden the AI photo editing craze better than any company, is about to release Luminar AI. ON1 now offers ON1 Portrait AI. DxO announced DxO DeepPRIME, which it describes as “an artificial intelligence technology dedicated to editing photos in RAW format.”

Adobe just made AI a major centerpiece in the latest version of Photoshop, declaring that Photoshop is “the world’s most advanced AI application for creatives.”

Reactions within the online photography community seem split. It feels like there’s a loud minority proclaiming AI to be pure evil. But there’s another side thinking about the convenience factor of one-click fixes.

So let’s talk about it.

Photographers Code: why you should NEVER interfere with another photographer’s shoot

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If you haven’t heard about this situation, then you might just lose your temper now.

So a couple was having their wedding shoot with their professional photographer.

Photographer Alex Stemplewski , who’s a big TikTok star, barges in and asks if he can shoot portraits of the couple.

Five ways to get people to smile naturally in photos

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If you tell people to smile in your portraits, you have to stop it right now.

That’s right — I’m giving you an order!

Here’s one thing all new portrait photographers need to understand: most people can’t give a perfectly natural smile on command.

In fact, the average person tends to stiffen up as soon as they have to smile.

This comprehensive tutorial will make a portrait master with Capture One

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If you’re looking for an alternative to Lightroom, Capture One could be the solution. No matter if you’re fully switching or just experimenting with new software, it takes some time to figure it out and get used to it. But here’s something to help you speed up the learning process. Michael Comeau shares a great in-depth video for all of you who want to edit photos in Capture One 20. He shows you five portraits and his editing process for each, but I’m sure you’ll find the video useful no matter what genre you usually shoot.

The best way to answer ‘Do you Photoshop your pictures?’

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Last night, I did an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on Instagram Stories and someone asked the question: ‘Do You Photoshop Your Pictures?’

My reaction was the same one most photographers have:

“Yes, just like 99% of photographers out there, I do some post-production on my pictures. Even in the film days, photographers like Richard Avedon and Irving Penn edited the hell out of their photos.”

And then I realized — that would have been the dumbest possible response.

This beginners guide gives you 20 tips for getting started in Capture One 20

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As photographers start to explore alternatives to Adobe’s suite of applications, Capture One is a piece of software that’s often recommended as an alternative to Lightroom. While it may be arguably superior in certain aspects, and very similar in others, the workflow is a little different to Lightroom. So, it can take a while for new users to get used to it.

In this video, Michael Comeau at On Portraits walks us through his 20 top tips for beginners to Capture One to help newcomers get to grips with the software quickly and speed up their overall workflow.

3 ways the Fuji X100 changed the camera industry forever

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The Fujifilm X100 was the single most impactful camera of the 2010’s. I’ve seen folks say the same about the Sony A7/A7R, Samsung Galaxy NX1, and various micro 4/3 cameras. But I will argue that the Fujifilm X100 delivered a bigger bang than all of them combined.

As you’re about to learn, it changed the camera industry more than you ever imagined.

f/0.95 and be there: Fixing 10 great photography quotes

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If you know me, then you know I love a good one-liner.

In fact, I put together what may be the best collection of portrait photography quotes in history.

But even I can get sick of hearing the same old pearls of wisdom from the same old boomers.

So I’ve upgraded 10 great photography quotes so they make more sense in our modern photography world.

I urge you to read them now and become inspired to make 2020 your best year of photography ever!

The truth about photography gear: 9 things you need to know

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The internet is a gold mine of information about cameras, lenses, and other photography equipment.

But there’s always a fair amount of BS circulating.

There are opinions masquerading as fact.

We’re constantly told to buy new gear… while also hearing that gear doesn’t matter.

So I’ve decided to lay out the truth about camera gear as I see it:

From Canon to Sony: what I learned four years after switching systems

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I switched to Sony from Canon on December 31, 2014.

Since then, I’ve cranked through over 50,000 frames on my Sony cameras in the past 4+ years of shooting.

I upgraded to the A7 III in October 2018, following a brief stint where I considered a switch to Fujifilm or Olympus.

So now’s a good time to take a look back at the pluses — and minuses —  of my switch to Sony from Canon.

Let’s start with something you need to hear if you are thinking of switching camera system:

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