Fixing Your White Balance [post]

^©2011 Curtis Harper

If you are new to Photography, or new to accurate Photography, then you have probably struggled with white balance on more than enough occasions. But with the advancement of today's camera bodies, you almost have to try to get the white balance wrong. The presets on most cameras ie. indoor, sunlight, fluorescent etc. do a pretty good job at getting the it correct. Even the AWB on some cameras may be your best option if you are in a jam. Try it out to see if it's useful!

White balance becomes most challenging when mixing different light sources. Event Photographers should have the most experience in this, as they generally shoot in a mixture of incandescent and flash lighting. No matter the situation, the best way to achieve accurate white balance is by using a white balance card. WhiBal makes a great kit. Getting it right in camera will save you countless hours in post.

If you do find yourself fixing images in post, the fastest and perhaps the best place to start is in Adobe Camera Raw. View the tutorial (external site).

Taking Images with a Dirty Lens

kurtmunger.com

Most Photographers are pretty tedious when it comes to keeping their glass clean. They carry around at least a micro-fiber cloth, or a cotton corner of their shirt in case of an emergency cleaning. At the very least, it certainly is annoying to be walking around with an oily fingerprint on the front of your element. But when it comes down to it, how often have you taken a photo, and said "oh, this Smudge got in the way?" Probably not that often. And why would someone name their kid Smudge?

Whenever you do have an obstruction on your image, it is probably due to dust on the sensor itself. There are tests you can do to explore this, but if you can't see it in the image, why bother? Cleaning the sensor is not exactly wiping off a front element. It's not so much that it's a hassle, and a delicate process, but the fear that you could actually make it worse. If you are confident and handy, take your time and it can be done well. Otherwise send it in to the manufacturer if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself.


Image Copyright Christine Gacharna

In the image above, Christine clearly marks the dust on the image. She also guides you through her [dangerous] cleaning endeavor. Here are a few tips to make sensor cleaning easy:

1) Look for menu items to aid in cleaning. Newer cameras such as the Canon 40D include options like "auto clean" and "clean manually." Cleaning manually locks the shutter open, giving you access to the sensor.

2) Try to remove dust without even touching the sensor. Blower

3) If you are not comfortable calling yourself a technician, send it in to one.

Another thing worth mentioning is that some cameras provide special features just for "removing dust." Many EOS cameras include the "Dust Delete Data" function, which allows you to communicate the issue with the DPP software. It allows you to add additional information to your photos, as you take them. When you import to your library, DPP will give you an option to automatically remove dust on all the images. This won't be ideal for every situation, but sometimes could be a great help. Personally I would set up a Photoshop action. This is if the camera's auto cleaning isn't suffice.

Another way to test this is to evenly light a white wall. Set your aperture to f/16 and take the photo. Import into your editing software and zoom in to 100%. Any obstructions will be apparent.



For more on this "Dirty Lens" write-up, and to see what type of image this lens takes, visit Kurt Munger's website.

Fake Model/Tilt Shift

At first thought, the term "fake model" sounds like an oxymoron. Well, in fact it is. You see, an oxymoron is something that is seemingly self-contradictory. Ok, you're not here for an English lesson. But, a quick history on tilt-shift lenses.

The function of a tilt-shift lens is to allow you to have a wide depth of field all the way to maximum aperture. This is achieved by literally tilting and shifting the angle of your focal plane. However, just as with standard lenses, people get creative. One way to do this is by creating these interesting fake model shots. These types of shots are very engaging because usually an artist models reality through interpretation, but in this case, reality is directly replicated in a photograph, and is reminiscent of a model. In the image above, the trees really do look 1 inch tall, when in reality this is a real place.

If you are interested in learning how to make these images, check out this tutorial. Gimp users click here.

More fantastic images by Quemas.

CS5 Tutorial: Content-Aware Fill

This is a quick walk-around of the new Content Aware tool that is included in Photoshop Creative Suite 5. By AdobePhotoshopFB: