Quick Digital Imaging Tip 11/101: Preserve Detail in Saturate Areas with the Vibrance Adjustment

in , , ,
This is #11 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned.

Today's tip: Use Vibrance rather than Saturation to preserve detail.


When you over-saturate an image, you can lose detail in the already- saturated areas - as illustrated by the second picture in this post. Notice how some detail is lost in the novice monks' robes in that picture, unlike the first picture in which you can see the detail.

When you choose Vibrance, rather than Saturation in Adobe Camera RAW and other digital imaging editing programs, you are only saturating the colors that are not already saturated. That helps to preserve details in already-saturated areas of an image.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. I made this picture in northern Thailand by asking the novice monks to stand in the frame for a few minutes.


Quick Digital Imaging Tip 10/101: Get a Good Guide

in , , ,

This is #10 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned.

Today's Tip: Get a good guide.

A good guide is an invaluable asset when traveling. He or she knows the lay of the land and can help you get to the best sites – as Crocodile Mike is doing here in Northern Thailand.

Of course, pre-arranging a good guide before you leave home is essential. This photo adventure was expertly planned though Travel InterLink.

I took these photographs with my Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 17-40mm zoom lens.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. Here is a screen grab of what I saw when I first tried to log into my blog :-)




Quick Digital Imaging Tip 8/101: Don't Forget to Press Reset

in , ,

This is #8 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned.

Today's Tip: Don't forget to press Reset.

Several digital imaging plug-ins, including Topaz Adjust (shown here) and Photomatix, have a Reset Tab. In some of these plug-ins, if you do not press Reset, your previous adjustments will be applied to your current image – which may or may not be a good thing.

For more information on plug-ins, and some discounts on plug-ins, click here.

Explore the light,
Rick

Quick Digital Imaging Tip 7/101: Shoot At an Angle and Create a Sense of Depth in Your Images

in , , , ,

This is #7 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned.

Today's tip (from Thailand): Shoot at an angle and create a sense of depth in your images.


These two HDR images (Nik Software's HDR Efex Pro), which I made today Chiang Mai, Thailand (after a 36-hour door-to-door trip from NY), have a good sense of depth because I shot at angle angle – and because everything in the scene is in focus.

To get max depth-of-field: use a wide-angle lens, set a small aperture and focus one-third into the scene.

My gear for these shots: Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 14mm lens. See all my gear here.

For more info and discounts on HDR imaging programs, click here.

Planning a trip to Thailand (and Cambodia and Laos - next stops on our photo tour), work with one of the best tour operators I know: Travel Link.

Our guide in Thailand is a wealth of info: Mr. Mike, a.k.a. Crocodile Mike: crocodilemike8@yahoo.com.

As Capt. Jack always says, "Don't ya just love it."

Explore the light – and enjoy the Pad Thai :-)

Rick
P.S. The band in the hotel is playing a Lady Gaga song.....