How to work through the Camera Raw dilemma
Dave Johnson, TechHive:
All great debates are framed by at least two compelling, often contradictory choices: Mac vs. PC, Beatles vs. Stones, oatmeal raisin vs. chocolate chip. If you have a digital SLR or an advanced compact camera, you can make just such a choice when it comes to what format in which to save your photos. Most cameras default to the common JPEG format (and if you have a smartphone or very basic point and shoot, that’s probably your only choice). There’s a good chance your camera also offers a Raw option as well, though. You’ve probably heard that it is a higher quality option than JPEG, but comes with tradeoffs of its own. Should you take it? There’s no one right answer; it depends upon how you tend to edit and use your photos. It might be helpful to take a step back and discuss the differences between the two formats.
How to minimize noise in digital photos
Dave Johnson, TechHive:
In the days before digital photography, seemingly every corner store had rack upon rack of film on display. Each roll of film was marked with a speed—measured in ISO—such as 100, 200, or 400. Higher-speed film was handy for low-light photography, but it had a serious disadvantage: grain.
Film grain was every photographer’s nemesis. Instead of smooth, natural textures, grain put ugly blotches all over a photo. And though the days of grainy photos are far behind us, digital photos have a similar problem: digital noise.
You’ve undoubtedly seen noise in your own photos. On the plus side, noise tends to be very small; and when you view a many-megapixel photo on a computer screen, pixel-size noise is so small that it usually disappears into the background. You might look at a very noisy photo and not even know it. Noise becomes apparent, though, when you zoom in—if you crop it down to a small detail, for example, or if you attempt to make a large print. Let’s learn how to control noise.
What are your rights as a photographer?
Dave Johnson, TechHive:
You probably don’t think about the legality of taking photos very much, but it’s more important than ever to be aware of your rights and responsibilities as a photographer—even if you aren’t shooting covers for Time magazine. It’s certainly true that the U.S. Constitution recognizes a formidable array of rights and freedoms; but when it comes to taking photos, in a lot of situations your rights aren’t so clear-cut.
Spring Photography Auctions Total More Than $30.8 Million, Set Artist Records
Six photography sales last week at the three major auction houses in New York City brought in more than $30.8 million dollars and included record sales for masters Man Ray and Diane Arbus, among others, as well as contemporary artists including Robert Frank, Richard Misrach, Alex Prager and Viviane Sassen.
Fine art photography is proving to be a very good financial investment, right?
Master the camera app on IOS
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld:
The simplest way to shoot photos and video with your iPhone is to use Apple’s built-in Camera app.
These past two years, the iPhone’ camera is the one that’s with me all the time, and which I use all the time. Nowadays, I cannot imagine going anywhere without it.
Photos of Children From Around the World With Their Most Prized Possessions
Amanda Gorence, Feature Shoot:
Shot over a period of 18 months, Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti’s project Toy Stories compiles photos of children from around the world with their prized possesions—their toys. Galimberti explores the universality of being a kid amidst the diversity of the countless corners of the world; saying, “at their age, they are pretty all much the same; they just want to play.”
But it’s how they play that seemed to differ from country to country. Galimberti found that children in richer countries were more possessive with their toys and that it took time before they allowed him to play with them (which is what he would do pre-shoot before arranging the toys), whereas in poorer countries he found it much easier to quickly interact, even if there were just two or three toys between them.
There were similarites too, especially in the functional and protective powers the toys represented for their proud owners. Across borders, the toys were reflective of the world each child was born into—economic status and daily life affecting the types of toys children found interest in. Toy Stories doesn’t just appeal in its cheerful demeanor, but it really becomes quite the anthropological study.
Histograms help gauge your exposure as you shoot
Dave Johnson, TechHive:
Getting the right exposure is a critical ingredient in taking a good photo. And while your camera’s Auto mode does a pretty good job most of the time, there’s often room for improvement. Thankfully, tweaking the exposure is not as complicated as it might seem—after you learn a few simple rules, you can ensure that your photos pop with color and energy.
A well-exposed photo is neither under- nor over-exposed. That might sound obvious, but in practical terms, what does it mean?
