Wildlife photography is usually associated with breathtaking natural beauty, the soothing silence of forest groves, or the fresh scent of meadow flowers. But today’s article is about something completely different. I want to show you that beautiful wildlife photos can be taken in a completely different environment – in the noise of an industrial zone, in a garbage dump… places where the only thing “breathtaking” is the smell of rotting garbage, but where beauty can still be found in the animal you came to photograph.
There’s a common goal among all Photoshop users, whether they’re just getting started or a post-processing expert; namely, making the most of all the appropriate tools so your enhancements look great and are accomplished quickly with a minimum of complexity.
One way to facilitate this task is to understand less-familiar or secondary features that are often overlooked, and this tutorial from The Photoshop Training Channel demonstrates a handful of techniques that can make a big difference in results, accelerate the process, and deserve a prominent place in your everyday Photoshop workflow.
Instructor Jesus Ramirez is an expert at all things Adobe who has worked with some of the biggest publications and software makers during his successful 20-year professional career. Shutterbug readers appreciate his “concise fluff-free” tutorials that span the gamut from image-manipulation, compositing and retouching, to special effects and much more.
He begins with a trick for turning any PSD file into a Photoshop template by simply adding the letter “T” to the end of the file extension. Then when you open the PSDT file Photoshop automatically creates a new, untitled document “which means this is a completely fresh file and you can’t accidently override the original.”
Ramirez insists that another of Photoshop’s best hidden features is that you can use the Eyedropper tool to accurately sample colors from any outside application like a page on your Internet browser. It’s as easy as this: Simply minimize the application frame, click inside the canvas, and drag out. You’ll notice that as you drag over the browser Photoshop instantly selects those colors.
In other words, “I’ll hover over the blue and that becomes Photoshop’s foreground color. I can now expand the application frame and use the Brush tool to paint in blue.” Ramirez demonstrates several other helpful tricks for dealing with fonts, saving and applying character styles, accessing hidden brushes, and downloading additional brushes.
You’ll also learn how to expand your creative arsenal by gaining access to Photoshop’s legacy shapes and styles. Be sure to take a look at Ramirez’ instructional YouTube channel where there are many more post-processing tips and techniques to be found.
We also encourage you to watch a tutorial we featured with another image-editing expert who demonstrates how to streamline your workspace with a frequently ignored masking trick that’s available in Lightroom, Photoshop, and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR).
Even if travel photography isn’t your thing there’s sure to be trip on the horizon, whether it’s for business, a weekend excursion to the beach, or a long-awaited summer vacation abroad. Today’s comprehensive tutorial covers everything you need to know for documenting your journey, whether you’re a beginner with simple gear or an aspiring pro.
We’re always surprised when experts in other popular genres return from a trip with images that could be best described as snapshots, even though their usual work is so impressive. The video below from Canadian photographer/video producer Lizzie Peirce provides 10 straightforward tips for leveling up your travel photography game.
In this behind-the-scenes episode you’ll join Pierce in Toronto while she dives into a wide variety of topics from the best times of day to shoot, essential gear, and the importance doing some research to familiarize yourself with the culture and identify key areas of interest before hitting hit the road.
There’s also a thoughtful discussion of key shooting techniques, and these include careful composition, lighting and reflections, and tips for choosing unique vantage points and camera angles that deliver an uncommon look when shooting familiar destinations. And like with all forms of photography, a respect for the environment and local people should be included on your list.
Peirce recommends arising early and being on site at dawn or staying out the until the sun drops below the horizon for two primary reasons. One is the beautiful soft light of Golden hour, and the other is that monuments and other popular sites tend to be less cluttered with tourists at these times than they are in the middle of the day.
Another way to document a trip in a unique way is to immerse yourself in the culture by venturing off the well-beaten path, speaking with a few “homies” about local history and even requesting permission for an environmental portrait that helps you tell a visual story.
It also helps to patronize restaurants and shops that don’t appear in your travel guide— otherwise they be jam-packed with tourists like you. The remainder of this 14-minute lesson is devoted to a discussion of photo equipment and a demonstration of several interesting shooting techniques that will deliver uncommon images that no one will confuse with quick-and-dirty snapshots.
We also recommend watching a tutorial we featured recently with one of our favorite instructors who explains how to take advantage of color theory basics with real-world examples and practical techniques that will boost the impact of every outdoor photograph you shoot.
Nighttime photography can be a lot of fun because it provides numerous opportunities to capture compelling images in the field or on the street. Familiar scenes that may appear boring during the day are transformed into magical tableaus once the sun drops below the horizon.
But here’s the rub: the same neon signs, streetlamps, and brightly-lit windows that everyone finds so captivating can also make it extremely difficult to determine a balanced exposure. And most of the time this means images that look far darker than what you saw through the viewfinder.
But all is not lost because the following video from French-born Serge Ramelli describes “how to retouch an underexposed photo like a pro.” He’s is a noteworthy cityscape photographer now living in the U.S. whose sought-after images are displayed in over 120 galleries across the globe.
Ramelli summarizes today’s eye-opening episode like this: “I’ll provide step-by-step instructions for transforming a severely underexposed photo into a stunning gallery-worthy image.” Along the way you’ll learn his preferred methods for correcting exposure, perfecting white balance, and mastering dodge and burn.
Ramelli also demonstrates his strategy for applying sharpening and noise reduction to images that are overly dark. He covers all these topics and more in barely nine minutes. The example he uses is a well-composed street slot with a curving cobblestone road that effectively guides you through the glittering village.
The problem is an exposure mistake that makes all the enticing details difficult or impossible to see—thereby spoiling the unprocessed shot. If you want a one-click solution, simply grab Ramelli’s free Lightroom AI presets using a link beneath the video. The point of this lesson, however, is teaching you how to rehabilitate an image yourself so that you understand the necessary adjustments and enhancements that are involved.
Ramelli begins by adjusting the black points in the photo before boosting the whites to “reveal the photo.” Then he uses simple slides to modify white balance, color intensity, and other key variables in a manner that photographers of all skill levels can handle with ease. A few simple masks for local enhancements also factor into the equation.
A quick glance at Ramelli’s before/after examples confirms the spectacular results you can expect by following his straightforward advice. Be sure to take a close look at his popular YouTube channel and explore the many how-to videos you find.
And don’t miss a tutorial we featured with another post-processing expert who demonstrates a simple-but-obscure masking trick that many photographers overlook that takes barely five minutes to learn. You can use it in Lightroom, Photoshop, and Adobe Camera Raw.
