Photographers tend to be gadget freaks, constantly on the lookout for interesting gadgets and accessories to buy. But admit it: How many of the purchases you’ve made recently have actually found their way into your bag?

There’s no doubt that many accessories are worthwhile. Some make photography easier and more enjoyable, while others actually enable you to capture better images. Still other others, while they may seem interesting at first glance, are eventually relegated to an ignominious spot in the back of your camera cabinet.

Today’s video from the Photo Genius YouTube channel is intended to separate the wheat from the chaff, and save you some cash to use on more worthwhile gear in the future. And if you’re lucky, you may even find something to purchase that you really need.

Instructor Paul Farris in an Australia-based pro who says, “in this week’s video I want to share some of the items from my camera bag that I feel are essential for every photographer.” He further explains that some of these accessories have made him a better photographer while others make him a more efficient photographer.

We all understand the importance of a solid tripod for avoiding camera shake when shooting in low-light conditions or using a long telephoto lens. But there’s less obvious stuff Farris won’t leave home without. And he provides links to where you can find the items discussed in the description beneath the video.

Before clicking the ”play” button” make a mental inventory of the accessories you consider crucial to your work, and then compare your list to the items recommended by Farris—just to see where you stand.

Farris discusses everything from the filters he uses for landscape photography to camera-cleaning kits, lens hoods and much more. He even includes a couple very affordable lenses that he uses with great success.

So take close look, carefully consider your needs, and then feel free to go shopping with restraint. When you’re done filling up your bag, be sure to visit the Photo Genius YouTube channel where there’s much more to learn.

And speaking of accessories, take a look at the tutorial we posted earlier, explaining why another pro insists that, “UV filters hurt more than they help.”

There are numerous methods for upscaling images using Photoshop, Lightroom, or third-party plugins and apps. Unfortunately, the results you achieve may barely be acceptable or less, depending on the technique employed.

After resizing photos and zooming in on the file you may have noticed pixelated, jagged, soft edges that spoil the shot. If this sounds familiar, the quick video below is exactly what you need.

This episode comes from the folks at VerticDesigns, a popular British-based YouTube channel that’s been sharing easy-to-follow editing tutorials for over a decade. Today’s lesson solves a common need, with a simple, effective Photoshop technique that takes less than two minutes to demonstrate.

As the instructor says, “we use this Photoshop trick to sharpen those soft pixelated edges and restore logos, icons, and other images with soft, transparent edges.” So open Photoshop, pull up an appropriate image, and follow along while you watch how it’s done.

The process begins In Photoshop’s Filter tab, selecting the Blur option, and choosing Gaussian Blur in the dropdown menu that appears. The next step sounds counterintuitive because you’ll repair the soft edges by first blurring them even further.

This works because blurring the edges will smooth them out for the next steps. At this initial stage you may also notice that crooked edges already appear straighter. Then watch how a simple slider sharpens and improves the edges as you move it to the right. The trick here is to stop as soon as you like what you see, and avoid the temptation to keep going.

At this point the edges are improved, but need a bit more work, which you’ll accomplish in the Curves panel. All you have to do here is drag the left and right anchors to the center of the graph. “As you’ll see, the image now appears significantly better.”

There’s one drawback explained in the lesson, but it pales in comparison to tossing the terrible original file. You can find more editing tips and tricks that work wonders in seconds, by taking a look at the VerticDesigns instructional YouTube channel.

And don’t miss the tutorial we posted from another image-editing expert, explaining the correct way do use Photoshop’s Dodge and Burn tools to fix incorrectly exposed images.

For several years, I had wanted to travel to Antarctica and explore the region photographically. Images that I had seen from this part of the Earth seemed truly otherworldly. In February 2019, I finally had a chance to go as part of a photo workshop led by John Paul Caponigro and Seth Resnick, two outstanding teachers. Travel to this region was a bit arduous, but the excitement of finally getting to see the southernmost part of the world more than overcame the long travel.

A day after we arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile, we flew to the Antarctica Peninsula. Later that day, we set sail on the icebreaker ship that we were to be housed on for the week. Each morning and afternoon, taking off from the base ship, we would travel by Zodiac boat in the area surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula to photograph incredible icebergs and the unique landscape.

Late one afternoon, we passed an impressive iceberg that was about eight to 10 stories high with an arch that had partially melted and then refroze, leaving icicles dangling from the top of the arch. While sailing past the opening of the arch, a second iceberg floated into view through the window of the arch. One of the great advantages of being with a group of photographers is that you can work with the Zodiac navigator to ideally position the boat for an optimal image on the open seas. The navigator in this instance slowed the Zodiac, allowing me to frame the second iceberg through the arch, and he made several passes so that I could place the second iceberg perfectly in the opening.

The fundamental trick to making iceberg photographs is that one needs to be quick and prepared for those moments when it all comes together. Since the boat is constantly in motion, as are the icebergs, getting a sharp image can be challenging, and all images must be made handheld. Selecting the best aperture for adequate depth of field, as well as a fast enough shutter speed, was foremost in my mind as I made this image. I had previously found that most images required a moderately large aperture and a fast shutter speed to work well. In this case, however, since I wanted sharpness for both the foreground iceberg as well as the rear iceberg, I had to stop the aperture down more than usual for front-to-back sharpness. I snapped a series of photos, and this image was the one I liked best.

While icebergs are often presumed to be white, they’re actually a shade of blue, which becomes exaggerated when they’re seen and photographed in shadow. The final image still needed some dodging and burning to control the contrast, but I was able to manage this reasonably well in post-processing. It’s a favorite of mine from that trip, though I returned home with a wonderful selection of photographs. 

See more of Alan Spitzer’s work at aspitzerimages.com.

Nikon D850, AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR. Exposure: 1/800 sec., ƒ/13, ISO 200.

The post Behind The Shot: Iceberg Arch appeared first on Outdoor Photographer.

Improperly exposed photos are the bane of all kinds of photographers, especially those who shoot outdoors where a wide range of tones may exceed the density range of your camera. We posted a tutorial earlier today explaining a simple method to remedy this problem by using Photoshop’s Dodge and Burn tools to make dark areas lighter and light areas dark to arrive at a balanced result.

But pros often use a somewhat more involved approach that offers additional control for avoiding crushed shadows and blown-out highlights, and also enables you to enhance other key variables at the same time. There are a few more steps involved, but in most cases the extra effort pays big dividends.

While we can’t guarantee that you’ll achieve professional-quality photos by following the advice in the tutorial below, it’s a pretty sure bet that your landscape photos will be more compelling than ever before.

Austin James Jackson is a self-taught landscape photographer who regularly shares the tips and tricks he employs for capturing eye-catching landscape imagery. Rather than shooting a single photo, and using Photoshop’s Dodge and Burn tools to even out tones, Jackson captures multiple images of the same scene a few minutes apart, at different exposures, and merges them during the editing process to create one super shot.

The common approach is to shoot the base image with the exposure setting recommended by the camera, as well as two others—one slightly underexposed and another somewhat overexposed. As Jackson says, you can expect the combined final image to “show off the best light in addition to the best clouds which usually don’t appear at the same time.”

Jackson also promises that whether you’re a beginner or a more advanced photographer, “learning this exposure-blending trick is going to help you elevate your photography to take even better photos.” And the advice you glean is not only appropriate for landscape imagery, but for just about any outdoor images you shoot that have a wide range of tones from deep shadows to bright highlights.

Jackson walks you through his straightforward shooting and editing techniques in less than 15 minutes. We’re pretty sure that after a bit of practice, this will become one of your go-to techniques.

We encourage you to spend some quality time on Jackson’s instructional YouTube channel, especially if landscape photography is your thing, because there are a variety of helpful shooting and editing tips like those you see here.

And don’t forget to watch the tutorial mentioned above, so you can also give dodging and burning a try.