PhotoActive

The weather is warming up, the skies are clearing, and we point our eyes and cameras to the sky. But capturing the night sky well requires more than just snapping a photo of the heavens. Mike Shaw, author of the new book The Beginner’s Guide to Astrophotography , joins us to talk about what gear you need—yes, you can do it with a smartphone!—and how to make stunning star photos. Guest: Mike Shaw ,...

The folks behind Pixelmator Pro have just released Photomator for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and it’s won us over. Designed as a straightforward photo editor (versus the can-do-everything that is Pixelmator Pro), Photomator is surprisingly deep for an app that on the surface is non-intimidating. In this episode, we look at the new Mac version and why it’s likely to become Kirk’s main photo editor. Hos...

Camera resolution is easy, right? More pixels, more quality, more options, more better! But as soon as you start digging into it, from the iPhone 14 Pro’s 48 megapixels to Sony sensors with 60 megapixels, all sorts of considerations make themselves known. Do you need that much resolution? How did we survive with less than 20 MP in the recent past? We pixel-peep and also look at the big picture. Ho...

Adobe added a new AI-assisted denoise feature to Lightroom and a Remove tool in the public beta of Photoshop, both of which are impressive. But how many photographers find themselves using these and other tools? Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram , Jeff on Glass Kirk McElhearn: website , Kirk on Instagram , Kirk on Glass Show Notes: ( View show notes with images at Ph...

It’s time to rant. Are photographers spending too much energy in front of the computer instead of behind the camera? Does posting a photo to a public forum make it an invitation for criticism? And is there actually a good street photo of a woman looking at her cell phone amid all the copycats out there? This isn’t just curmudgeonly banter—we dig into some photographic issues that have been gnawing...

We had an entirely different topic planned for this episode and then learned just before recording that the website DPReview is being shut down after 25 years of covering digital photography and being the best resource for camera reviews. At about the same time, Adobe announced Firefly, its generative AI tool for making photos and artwork by typing text prompts. What does it all mean for photograp...

Chris Niccolls joins us this episode to talk about zoom lenses! Chris gets to shoot using most new cameras and lenses for DPReview TV, so we wanted to tap into his extensive hands-on experience with zooms. Do they require too many compromises? Why are some so expensive? And can we put to rest the idea that real photographers only shoot with prime lenses? Guest: Chris Niccolls , Instagram Hosts: Je...

Do you use a particular lens or photographic technique because someone said that was the only way to do it? In this episode, we break down some common photo preconceptions. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram , Jeff on Glass Kirk McElhearn: website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Instagram , Kirk on Glass Show Notes: ( View show notes with images at PhotoActive.co ) Rate and...

“I never metadata I didn’t like.” Do we need to spend hours entering metadata for our images? Or do we even care about metadata? We look at why metadata is important, and at some automated solutions like AI-assisted object recognition in the Photos app, Lightroom, and other tools. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram , Jeff on Glass Kirk McElhearn: website , Kirk's phot...

We’re excited to welcome photographer Mike Hipple to talk about his latest book “Lived Through That: 90s Musicians Today.” What started as an artistic distraction to photograph creative people spawned a book of iconic 1980s musicians, “80s Redux!,” which he followed up with this book of notable music makers of the next decade. We talk about working on such a large project, dealing with unexpected...

What will your photography look like in the new year? Although Kirk and Jeff are wary of making any New Year’s resolutions, they each came up with photographic goals to chase that involve learning new skills and pushing out of their comfort zones. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram , Jeff on Glass Kirk McElhearn: website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Instagram , Kirk on G...

Perhaps you’ve heard that there’s an ideal focal length that is the closest approximation to the human eye. Or perhaps you’re a purist who can’t imagine shooting anything but a 50mm prime. In this episode, Jeff and Kirk dig into these preconceptions and talk about how focal length affects your photography. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram , Jeff on Glass Kirk McElhe...

October and November bring a deluge of new camera announcements, which gets our minds to thinking, “Do we need new cameras?” But buying a camera today is different than it was just a few years ago, with factors such as AI-based autofocus systems and much higher megapixel sensors that affect everything from memory cards to computer storage. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Ins...

In this episode, we’re focusing our attention on features in the Photos apps for Mac and iOS/iPadOS. Did you know you can select text in images, select and copy subjects with a single touch, identify plants and animals, and identify duplicates in your library? We show you how. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram , Jeff on Glass Kirk McElhearn: website , Kirk's photos ,...

When you look through the viewfinder of your camera, what do you see? Just the scene in front of the lens, or the version you know is possible when you edit the shot later in software? This week Jeff and Kirk talk about visualizing the edit while you’re shooting to get photos that look the way you remember or how you’d prefer them to be. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Insta...

Apple announced new iPad and iPad Pro models aimed at two very different audiences, but how do they look for photographers? Also new are updates to Adobe’s Lightroom line of products, bringing improved AI-based masking features to the broad suite of photo editing apps. Jeff and Kirk weigh in on these and more in the latest episode. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram ,...

Apple says every new iPhone is the Best Ever iPhone, but when it comes to the cameras in the iPhone 14 Pro, could that be more than just hyperbole? Find out why Kirk thinks this model is a game-changer, hear our opinions on how it stacks up to other phones on the market, and discover the pros and cons we’ve discovered when photographing with these remarkable portable devices. Hosts: Jeff Carlson:...

Putting together a photo portfolio doesn’t need to be a daunting task. William Neill returns to PhotoActive to talk about his new book, The Photographer's Portfolio Development Workshop, and share advice on how to edit, organize, and present your best work. Guest: William Neill: Instagram , website Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram , Jeff on Glass Kirk McElhearn: web...

Here we go again: Apple has released the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, with more camera enhancements including a new 48 megapixel sensor on the Pro. What is pixel binning? Is the Photonic Engine just marketing terminology? Kirk and Jeff break down what’s new…while waiting for the phones they ordered to arrive. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram , Jeff on Glass Kirk McE...

How do you make mouth-watering photos of food? This week we’re joined by Lauren Caris Short, author of the beautiful new book The Complete Guide to Food Photography to talk about what it takes to be a food photographer. Lighting, food styling, composition... photographing food is a multi-disciplined photo endeavor. Guest: Lauren Caris Short: Instagram , website , YouTube [Photo of Lauren Caris Sho...

It’s easy to forget that your camera is more than just a box that records light. It’s a sophisticated computer with a huge amount of control over the light that hits the sensor. In this episode we talk about why it’s important to (gasp) read the manual, experiment with features, and gain a better understanding of the camera’s capabilities. This isn’t just an exhortation to RTFM, but a practical lo...

In our last episode, Kirk asked a question that stumped Jeff: While on vacation, did Jeff ever think about not taking a camera with him for a day? Being a photographer of any level means you look at the world a little differently—you develop a “photographer’s eye,” but could that be a detriment? Is it possible to just enjoy one’s surroundings without looking for compositions and dynamic lighting?...

Jeff just returned from two weeks in France and Italy with almost 3000 photos, even though his was a family vacation and not a “photo trip,” per se. From choosing gear to bring and finding time to make photos amid demands of travel and family, it turned out to be an interesting photographic challenge. We talk about what Jeff experienced and learned for the next adventure. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: webs...

What do the cameras of the future look like? The ones we use now are vastly different from cameras just a decade or two ago, so it’s reasonable to assume that changes will continue to advance. Jeff and Kirk speculate on what’s coming. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram , Jeff on Glass Kirk McElhearn: website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Instagram , Kirk on Glass Show Not...

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) wrapped up last week, and with it a lot of news about hardware like the M2-powered MacBook Air and what's coming in macOS Ventura, iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and watchOS 9. In this episode, Jeff and Kirk look at what struck their interest for photographers. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram , Jeff on Glass Kirk McElhearn: website...