PhotoActive

We welcome back Nik Bhatt, of Gentlemen Coders and RAW Power fame, to pick his brain on editing photos using levels and curves: what the differences are between the two tonal adjustment tools, and how to use them. We also talk about understanding the histogram, and touch on editing white balance and why we may be using the eyedropper tool wrong. Sponsor Masters of Photography , online masterclasse...

We're tackling two topics in this episode of PhotoActive. First up, all-important backups! We emphasize backups all the time, but what does a good backup system look like? Then, after the break, we turn a never-ending corner and look at 360-degree photography, an interesting and creative niche. Sponsor Masters of Photography , online masterclasses with the greatest photographers in the world....

In this episode of PhotoActive, we have some specific ideas about photographing with constraints. Whether you’re looking to expand your knowledge of individual shooting features (such as aperture or shutter speed) or get out of a creative rut, imposing constraints on yourself can actually turn out to be a freeing exercise. Sponsor Gentlemen Coders RAW Power 2 lets you process raw files on your Mac...

For this week’s episode, we’re moving to the other side of the camera. Kirk had the opportunity to get his portrait done by world-renowned Magnum photographer Martin Parr. He shares what it was like to be the subject, not the photographer. Sponsor Gentlemen Coders RAW Power 2 lets you process raw files on your Mac with full control over Apple’s raw engine, offering features previously available on...

Author, educator, photographer, and all-around knowledgeable guy Ben Long joins us this week to talk about the 9th — yes, ninth — edition of his comprehensive book “Complete Digital Photography.” We cover how photography and people’s expectations about photography have changed since the early versions of the book. Sponsor Masters of Photography , online masterclasses with the greatest photographer...

When we edit photos, we have a good idea of what the Exposure slider does—it makes everything brighter or darker throughout the image. But you’ll also find controls for Whites, Brightness, Brilliance, and others, depending on the software. What’s the difference? In this episode, Kirk and Jeff look at just what various editing controls do, so you have a better idea of which ones to use and how they...

What is 2019 going to look like? While we aren’t interested in making resolutions that are easily forgotten or ignored, we do have lots of ideas to spark your photographic creativity. Chief among those: Be less critical more often. Sponsor Masters of Photography , online masterclasses with the greatest photographers in the world. Get 5% off any course with the code PHOTOACTIVE. https://mastersof.p...

Do you store your photos in an application or in specific locations on your hard disk? In this episode, Jeff and Kirk talk about the advantages of using a Digital Asset Manager (DAM) such as Apple Photos, Lightroom, or Luminar. Sponsor Masters of Photography , online masterclasses with the greatest photographers in the world. Get 5% off any course with the code PHOTOACTIVE. https://mastersof.photo...

If you want to learn all about something, write a book about it. Or, to avoid yourself a lot of work, read someone else’s book about it! Jason Snell has written several versions of his book Take Control of Photos, and he joins us to talk about what’s new in Apple’s photo software and ecosystem for the Mac and iOS devices. We also talk about making print books and calendars, features that were remo...

Jeff and Kirk do their first Christmas gift guide. But they don't choose (much) gear. Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kirk's website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Instagram Show Notes: ( View show notes with images at PhotoActive.co ) Zeiss Pre-Moistened Lens Cleaning Wipes Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment Pete Souza: Obama: An Intimate Portrait Georgia O'Keeffe: On...

The winter months are dark for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, so how do you create good photos in dimly lit environments? Your camera wants to make the best exposure possible, but in low-light situations, that can lead to long shutter speeds and blurry camera motion. Kirk and Jeff cover the many options for dealing with dark scenes in this episode. Sponsor Luma Labs - Everyone needs a cam...

In traditional photography, a great piece of advice is to “zoom with your feet,” or, move yourself closer to a subject. What happens when the subject is 400 feet high? Or you want a unique viewpoint that wouldn’t be possible without a crane? This week we talk to Ian Schray about flying drones: quadcopters outfitted with cameras. Guest: Ian Schray ( Twitter ) Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos ,...

This week we’re joined by Nik Bhatt, former developer of Aperture and iPhoto at Apple and now a distinguished gentleman at Gentlemen Coders. Using his deep knowledge of how Apple’s raw photo editing engine works, Nik has just released RAW Power 2.0, an app for macOS and iOS. We talk about RAW Power’s unique features and learn some of the fascinating ins and outs of raw image processing. Sponsor Ge...

If you use Apple’s Photos app on your Mac or iOS device, are you also synchronizing your images via iCloud Photo Library? In this week’s episode, Jeff and Kirk talk about the pros and cons of Apple’s cloud service for photos. Why should you consider it? What are the downsides? And if you have your images in the cloud, is that considered a backup? (No, it’s not. We explain why.) Sponsor Masters of...

We (good-naturedly) wade back into the question of “What makes a REAL photographer?” In this case, we’re talking about shooting using entirely manual controls or using the auto or semi-automatic modes on your camera. (Spoiler: Anyone with a camera is a real photographer.) We discuss when each approach works, and the advantages of knowing how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO all work together. Spon...

Do you print your photos? Although we know we should make prints, but getting from screen to paper isn’t always easy. It turns out, though, that printing is much easier today than it used to be. In this episode, we welcome photographer and publisher Rick LePage to talk about printing photos at home, from hardware to paper to inks. Sponsor Masters of Photography , online masterclasses with the grea...

We’ve talked about using an iPhone as a camera, but what about as a photo editor? The iPhone and iPad have come a long way since the early models, and they’re now quite capable digital darkrooms. But can you do “real” editing on them? Jeff and Kirk reveal how they use their devices with their photos, and cover some of the top editing apps for iOS. Sponsor Masters of Photography , online masterclas...

“HDR” used to bring to mind surreal landscapes with garish colors and very few shadows. Fortunately, high-dynamic range photography has matured beyond those early days, and is a useful technique for getting more detail out of any scene. The latest iPhone and other smartphone cameras use HDR liberally to create good shots in all types of situations. We talk about making HDR photos using traditional...

The recent release of iPhones that improve Portrait mode spurred us to talk about bok... Kirk can’t say the word. That’s okay, because neither can Apple VP Phil Schiller (correctly, anyway). Yes, we’re discussing background blur and shallow depth of field, how to get the effect with traditional cameras and lenses as well as the faux version in some smartphones, and why you’d want to in the first p...

Conversations about photography can lead to unexpected places. Although Jeff has known Michael Rubin since the days when they were both writing technology books for Peachpit Press, it wasn’t until recently that he learned about Michael’s extensive collection of fine-art photography. Of course, he had to introduce Michael to Kirk, which resulted in this episode where we enjoy an enthusiastic conver...

Guest: Katrin Eismann Katrin's Instagram School of Visual Arts (SVA) Digital Photography Program Adobe Photoshop Restoration & Retouching (4th Edition) by Katrin Eismann, Wayne Palmer, Dennis Dunbar Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kirk's website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Instagram Show Notes: Kodak (Wikipedia) Apple QuickTake (Wikipedia) Renowned film director Wim Wen...

Photographers often focus on cameras, but it’s the lens that can have the most impact on your photos. In this episode, Jeff and Kirk talk glass: lenses. When do you want a prime lens, which has a fixed focal length, and when does a zoom work better? Why are prime lenses often better? And why not just use one zoom lens that hits both wide and telephoto ranges? We sort out an often confusing topic....

Do you have a pile of old cameras and lenses stashed in a closet somewhere? Or do you sell your used gear to make way for new goodies? What about buying previously-owned cameras and lenses? This week, Kirk and Jeff talk about buying and selling your photo gear: where to do it, pitfalls to avoid, and more. Sponsor Masters of Photography , online masterclasses with the greatest photog...

Time-lapse photography can create dramatic short videos - think about clouds zooming overhead throughout the course of a day or flowers blooming in seconds - but creating time-lapse videos turns out to be remarkably easy. In this episode, Jeff and Kirk walk through the process of using the Time-Lapse mode in the iOS Camera app as well as capturing time-lapse photos with traditional cameras. Sponso...

Photographer, podcaster, and author Chris Marquardt just published the book Wide-Angle Photography , and he joins us to talk about the time he took only a 24mm lens on a photo tour and fell in love with wide-angle lens photography. We cover composition, thinking in wide-angle terms, and shooting with tilt-shift lenses. Sponsor The Photographer’s Ephemeris : It’s all about the light. Plan your outd...