Cameras-n- Stuff

I use Photoshop CS4 to edit all my photos. It’s pretty impressive image editing software, and it costs almost as much as a really good lens. But let’s admit it. Not everyone can take an Ansel Adams quality shot right out of the camera. In fact, Ansel Adams didn’t usually take Ansel Adams quality shots right out of the camera. I discovered recently that he was a genius in the dark room. This was very freeing news to me. I was feeling guilty that I needed to use Photoshop to get better quality.

That’s where shooting in camera RAW comes in. When you shoot in RAW format several things come into play. First, the camera does not add any corrections to your digital file (this is also why you need to post-process your photos to get that “punch” you are looking for). What you see is what you get… No scene modes where the camera adds predetermined filters to improve the photo.

Second, there is no loss of image data like there is in JPEG format. When your camera records images in JPEG, there is a compression algorithym (that I don’t understand) that takes place. Essentially what happens is that the camera software “throws away” unnecessary pixels when the picture is saved. Then every time you open the image and save it again, more pixel data is lost. It’s crazy, but you can end up with a really grainy image if you do this enough times. That doesn’t usually happen, but it is possible.

Here is a photo I took using Raw with Photoshop. All I did to the original (on the right) was to add a bit of levels adjustment, crop, and burn the edges to draw the viewer’s attention into the center of the picture. You must admit that the left image is more dramatic than the right one.

After and Before Photoshop

You can open your photo in RAW format, but you can’t save it in RAW format. Once you make edits to your photo, you will have to save it in a different format. When using Photshop, you will definitely want to save it using the photoshop format which looks like this: ichybug.psd. The psd extension tells you it is a photoshop file. Now, unless you delete the original RAW file, you will always have it so that you can go back and start over. One really cool thing, too, about psd files is that there is no pixel loss in those either. You can open and save as many times as you wish without fear of “lossy compression”.

I know it’s nice to set your camera on “auto” and let it do your editing, but try camera RAW. It will give you a new appreciation for Ansel Adams (just kidding). It will give you more control over the final image as you decide how you want if to look and make the changes yourself. You can even take the same photo and create two totally different images using different editing techniques.

By the way, Photoshop Elements has many of the same capabilities as the CS4 software. There is also Adobe Lightroom 2.5, which many pros use for their editing. You can learn to use any of these software applications at Total Training by paying a monthly fee for total access to their video training. Try it for a month. They have some of the best teachers on the planet.

Don’t forget to visit www.digital-photographic-resources.com if you are looking for great choices in cameras, lenses, or photography tips.

I am finally hosting a blog!

Dabbled in writing a few posts at WordPress, but now it is official.

My goal is to share news and insight into the world of digital cameras and photography help in the form of training and/or tutorials to make better pictures.

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Check out this picture of some cows in a field. I may have fooled you, or you may have guessed that the cows are not real.

I used Photoshop to “cut out” the cows from a picture taken at a friend’s house. I then resized them and placed them into the field.

Finally, I used Picnik, a free online editing program, to put the vingette and frame around the photo.

Other free online applications include GIMP and Picasa. but I really like the user friendly interface of Picnik.

Here is another example. I took this family photo, added some brightness and contrast, as well as the polaroid-type frame. Looks a lot better, doesn’t it?

I did this in about 2 minutes.

One of the things I like about Picnik is that you don’t even have to register to start editing your photos, and there is no program to download. Just upload your photo and start editing. When done, save it back onto your own computer.

The free sites also have the option of saving and sharing your images on their server.

Having your own version of Photoshop, or some other powerful editing software certainly gives you more options, but the movement toward editing online is taking on momentum. Give it a try.

For more software options, check the Software Choices page.