Lately we’ve been featuring a series of interesting tests you can easily do at home to verify the various attributes of cameras and lenses so that there are no surprises after you make a shot. The previous episode from photographer Fil Nenna explains a quick way to find the sharpest aperture setting of every lens you own, which may differ significantly from one lens to another.

Nenna is back again today with a simple test that enables you to determine the dynamic range of your camera’s sensor, rather than relying upon spec sheets and other materials. This is important information that hinges on two key questions: First, how forgiving is your camera to over- or underexposure; and secondly, how accurately will your camera cope with high-contrast situations.

According to Nenna there’s another benefit of this illuminating test for photographers who are on a mission to understand Ansel Adams’ Zone System analysis. In any case, your journey begins here and takes barely three minutes to complete.

Nenna places a closely knit fabric on a flat surface, explaining that “we’re interested in the detail we can resolve between a really dark and super bright exposure.” He keeps the ISO fixed but offers this important note: “Remember that dynamic range decreases as ISO is raised, so you should test at multiple ISOs or at least the ones you use most often.”

He also recommends stopping down the aperture to f/5.6. He runs through various shutter speeds beginning with the slowest that produces a white image with no detail whatsoever. Then he increases shutter speed in one-stop increments until you see a couple frames that appear completely black.

Interpreting the results of your test is really simple. Nenna explains that the dynamic range of a sensor is “the number of stops that show any detail at all.” This information enables you to understand how far you can push things, either up or down, before image quality goes sideways in a hurry.

Be sure to visit Nenna’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find more interesting insights about your gear, including the aforementioned method of determining the sharpest aperture setting of every lens you own.

So let’s say you mistakenly used incorrect camera settings and your “beautiful” photo is disappointing with a low-res, blurry, pixelated appearance. Before you slap yourself on the forehead and dump the shot in the trash, pay close attention to the eye-opening tutorial  below.

Photographer Pejman’s YouTube channel is a great source of basic Photoshop techniques, advanced image manipulation methods, and in-depth portraiture retouching skills.

Today’s quick episode explains how to transform photos full of unsightly artifacts using easy-to-handle upscaling and image-restoration adjustments that take less than four minutes to explain.

Pejman uses a portrait photo to demonstrate the process, but the techniques you’ll learn will work equally well with other types of pixelated images that look as though they were captured with an old 3-megapxel camera. And here’s what’s so interesting: “We’re not adding anything new to the picture; we’re just making the pixels we already have look their best.”

The first step from Photoshop’s menu bar is choosing Edit, Preferences, and Technology Previews from the dropdown menus that appear. It’s important to check the box called Enable Preserve Details Upscale. Then press OK and you’re ready to proceed.

Next click on the Image tab from atop the menu bar and select the Image Size option, change Resolution to 300 pixels, and change Resample to Preserve Details. Then move the Radius Noise slider to a value of 30, and once again press OK.

Now zoom in on your photo and marvel at how much better it appears, but there’s still more work to do. The next step takes place in Photoshop’s Layers panel where you’ll activate a background layer by pressing Command or Control “J.” Then go to the Filter tab atop the screen and choose Other followed by High Pass from the ensuing dropdown windows.

Pejman says “the Radius setting here is completely dependent upon your image resolution, but I prefer a value of three for this photo.” He then explains why to temporarily choose black-and-white when zooming in on the shot for further refinements.

At this point you’re almost there, and Pejman walks you through the necessary steps which begin by changing by changing the Blending mode from Normal to Soft Light. Now you can adjust the strength of both Layers until you like what you see before finally merging them into one impressive shot.

There’s much more to learn about gear, post-processing, and capture techniques on Pejman’s instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to pay a visit when you have time to explore.

And don’t miss a recent tutorial we featured with another accomplished pro who demonstrates how to use Photoshop’s Blend If Sliders to transform dull images into spectacular photos that say “WOW.”  

Skylum, makers of popular AI-powered Luminar Neo, has announced the release of Aperty, an all-new professional portrait editing solution that promises faster natural-looking results and abundant advanced features.

The beta/developer preview version of Aperty, known then as “Project Barcelona,” first appeared in late summer. It is absolutely neither a replacement nor competitor for Luminar Neo. Aperty combines powerful editing tools with the batch-processing ability to apply the edits automatically to similar images thereby streamlining workflow and reducing photographers’ time at the computer.

Aperty is Built on Innovative Technologies

Face Mesh Of Up To 4000 Dots
To assure precise and accurate edits, every face is segmented into 4000 dots for analysis and refinement.

Face and Body Segmentation
Aperty’s proprietary segmentation technology detects up to 30 classes of face and body parts, enabling detailed retouching and reshaping adjustments.

Synthetic Data Set Generation
Consistent with everyone’s concern about the security of intellectual property, Aperty’s AI models learn from synthetic data and do not infringe on the original work of creators.

Key Features of Aperty

Skin Smoothing
Self-explanatory. Well-suited for every portrait situation.

Blemish Removal
When you need it, you need it. Preserves permanent details, removes or restores freckles.

Face/Body Skin Color Correction
Removes undesirable colorcast on the models’ faces sometimes caused by improper or mixed lighting.

Studio Light
May be worth the price of admission all by itself. Skylum says, “A dynamic tool that enables users to set up artificial lighting sources and apply light textures during post-production. With the ability to create up to 5 light sources, users can place them anywhere in the image to craft the perfect scene.”

Presets/LUTs
Deploy Presets and LUTs to manage color-graded images easily. Set an amount to apply and fine-tuned the results.

Masking
Easily create AI masks and customize masks with brushes, gradients or luminosity. Fully adjustable.

Makeup
Leveraging Aperty’s Face Mesh and Segmentation technology, apply blush, sculpt contours and adjust highlights in post-production.

Aperty’s DNA
Aperty was designed in close collaboration with Australian professional portrait photographer Julia Trotti. Check out her YouTube channel.

Availability & Pricing
Aperty is available directly from Skylum at $29.90 for a monthly subscription or $299 for a one-year subscription. All plans include the latest version, 24/7 technical support and activation on two devices.

∞ Jon Sienkiewicz