Adding flavour to your photos

Instagram filters have really changed the way the average Joe/Jane with a smart phone think about their photos, they now realize that they can add mood to their photos by selecting a filter such as "Ludwig", "Crema" or my favorite "Kelvin" to name a few, Kelvin is one of my faves because for us science nerds we know its a form of measuring absolute temperatures developed by Lord Kelvin in the 1800's he studied the thermodynamic effects of heat which is why the Instagam filter has oranges and reds in it, other filters like "X-Pro II" is an old film developing technique called "Cross Processing" which is when you would process film in a solution developed for another film type so it has that look to it, I could go on for a while so I'll just cut it short here, the point Im trying to make is that they are just a predefined group of colour and even contrast settings. Some may think they are doing something new and interesting but the fact is the photographic community has been doing this since photography was invented, even back in the black and white days before colour images photographic paper would be stained with tea to give the image a sepia look, later when colour became available they started playing around with boosting some colours and desaturating others to achieve a desired affect, the film or movie industry uses this extremely well, so well that we now instinctively understand the difference between TV and Film purely by the look and feel, this is also know as the "Filmic or Cinematic Look". Now predefined filters are good and well but they dont really allow you much control, your kinda stuck to the settings you can adjust hues and contrast but not individual colours or luminance setting etc. So how can we go about achieving this without Instagram filters. Below I'll have a look at a few popular effects and study how I managed to achieve them in Photoshop, this can also be done in Lightroom and GIMP. 

Colour Wheel

First we need to look at the colour wheel and understand complimentary colours, as the name suggests these are colours that compliment each others and basically they can be found on opposite sides of the wheel, as you can see in this image.

Cinematic or Filmic look

This look and feel is what we associate with movies, basically the mid-tones and dark's are pushed into the Blues, Teals and Green and light tones pushed into the Yellows, Orange and Reds this is because these colours compliment each other. Skin which is a tanish yellow orange depending on the tone would be complimented by Teals and Blues [see colour wheel image] it would also fall into the light areas this helps make it pop out more against the back ground which is what you want.

Below are three images of me smokin a cigar with a beard in a place called Inle Lake Burma, great cigar very smooth flavour, anyway so the first image has basic white balance and no colour correction, the middle had blues and green added in mid tones and darks as well Ive increased the Reds and added a little contrast, thirdly Ive added a black bar top and bottom to change the aspect ratio to "letter box" comonly used by Hollowood and it appears to be a screenshot from a Hollywood blockbuster right? am I right?.. anyone?? OK so my ugly mug dosnt quite fit the bill but come on man!

!. Basic white balance

2. Cinematic colour correction

3. Cinema aspect ratio

Here I am smokin a cigar with a beard in Viñales Cuba, Im inside a barn and the cigar had just been rolled at the farm where the tobacco was grown, it was also very smooth and they also add a little honey on the end you put in your mouth to give it some extra flavour. Now the background has more reds than blues or greens so the effect is not as obvious, but thats the intention, Im not trying to distract the viewer by messing with the colours too much. The one above is harsher and colder.

1. Basic white balance

2. Cinematic colour correction

3. Cinematic aspect ratio

Thirdly here Im not smokin but still sporting a beard, at first glance it may seem I'm in an office the truth is its a selfie I took using the natural light coming from my bathroom window, Id just bought the suit and thought Id take a couple shots for the archives. Anyway, so here Ive boosted the greens to give a look similar to the one used in the Martix trilogy, the Wachowskis figured that most people associate green with being inside a computer so whenever Neo is in the matrix a green tone was used, they then switched to a standard tone when back in reality. 

1. Basic white balance

2. Cinematic (Matrix) colour correction

3. Cine aspect ratio (inside Matrix)

3. Cine aspect ratio (Outside Matrix)

So as you can see colour tone can be used to give mood and effect to an image, now I didnt go into the exact steps becuase in PS, LR and GIMP they vary, but basically:

Photoshop and GIMP

In PS and GIMP you need to create a curves layer then play around with the RGB channels.

1. Create curves adjustment layer and select a Channel start with Green and Blues.

2. Drag the e.g Blue channel from the bottom left up this will affect the Blue pixels that are in the dark areas, drag the channel from the top right to the left as well.

3. do the same for Red however here you need to pin it from the middle [see images]

4. Boost contrast as you like.

Photoshop Curve

GIMP Curves

Lightroom Split Toning and Contrast adjustment

Lightroom

In Lightroom you'll need to use the Split Toning panel to bottom right of this screen cap, you'll also need to play with the contrast, lightroom is not as precise as PS which is why my preference is always to go straight into PS.

So thats the Cinematic look, now lets have a look at another fave of mine Urban Grundge.

Cuban School Bus

Urban Grunge

This look can be achieved by simply increasing contrast and boosting certain colours, which colours depends on what you equate with urban and grunge e.g when I think of these words I think of yellow street signs and lines, orange bricks and grey roads. By emphasizing these colours and de-saturating others such as magenta, cyan's, purples, etc the image will begin to feel urban, then symply boot contrast to give it a more grungy look and voilà!

Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba

NYC Avenue

Sydney Opera House

Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon Burma

Cuban motorcyclist

Plaza de España, Sevilla Spain

Now these filters can be added to taste and it really comes down to the look and feel you want to achieve, also there are many others such as the desaturated soft pastel look thats become popular.

Soft Pastel

Boat at Juan Lopez beach Anotofogata, Chile

Again just playing around with settings such as:

Basics Panel: boosting the Contrast, Highlights, Shadows and blacks, then reducing Clarity, Vibrancy and Saturation 

Split Toning Panel: In Highlights set the Hue to an Orangish and saturation to around 40, then Shadows make them Blueish and Saturation around 60

India

Burma

Pepsi Bottle India

Jeep in India

You guessed it! 

Ok so I think thats enogh for this Blog, BYE!!

Panning

Often when Im travelling and I get stuck in a creative rut or may simply just happen to be in an area where the background is not particularly interesting I reach into my arsenal of techniques, by which I mean styles of photography. One of my favorite is the Panning shot, you do need the right conditions to be able to pull off a good panning shot, for starters the light cant be too bright otherwise you wont be able to shoot with a slow shutter speed also the subject needs to be moving reasonably fast compared to their surroundings so its not for every occasions but when conditions are right it makes for truly spectacular image.

Havana, Cuba

The objective of the panning shot is to create motion blur in the background whilst keeping the subject sharp, this allows you to give the image a scene of velocity, generally in the direction they are travelling. We actually see the world with motion blur anyway which is why we find these images so appealing, in fact modern TV's have an incredibly fast refresh rate which makes the picture seem weird to us so TV companies need to add motion blur for a more realistic viewer experience, the effect also adds a whole dimension and enhances the story telling aspect.

Gear - You need a camera that allows you to use manual mode so as to slow down the shutter speed to around 1/15th of a second or so, a filter can help if its too bright out but camera is pretty much all you need.

Right light - an overcast day or late in the evening are probably the best times as the light levels are low enough for slow shutter speeds, to get a decent panning shot on a sunny day would require a neutral density filter (ND) I dont travel with ND Filters so need to improvise.

Subject - Ive found people on bikes are the best as they travel at a moderate pace that allows you to track them easily but cars, buses, Tuk Tuks, boats, people or animals running work well, basically if its moving and can be tracked its all good.

Technique - basically to get the shot you need to:

1. Set your camera to shutter priority between 1/10 and  1/15th of a sec, the slower you set the speed to blurrier the background.

2. Use a low F stop, you may need to use the lowest your camera can go to achieve slow shutter anyway.

3. I would suggest manually focusing on a point directly in front of you where you think the subject will cross, also point your feet in that direction and don't move them.

4. Turn at your hip to face the oncoming subject pan with them as they cross the point in front of you take the shot, then repeat and repeat and repeat for every subject that passes.

Try not to concentrate too much on on sharpness at first, its more important to get your form right. On average I normally take 10-20 shots at one site depending on how much time I have and how often they come, below is an average snapshot of my attempts to get a NYC Cab, Im at a street corner shooting them as the street lights change so they travel in both directions. 

NYC Cab, Panning Contact Sheet

Tips: Ive found that standing at street corners or where a street bends around you is good as the subject remains at an equal distance as it arcs around, if they are coming toward you manually focusing at a point you expect they will be when you take the shot works well, I also try setting my camera to continuous focus then lock them in as they approach and track them but this only works if you have a good lens that tracks focus well. Regardless of the gear sharpness of the subject will depend on how well to pan with them so practice makes perfect, you really need to practice matching the your tracking to the subjects speed. Also Tuk Tuk drivers are always looking for a fair so will look in your direction when you take the photo.

Lets talk about "Bokeh"

Bokeh, pronounced "Bo-Ke" not Bokee or Booky but Bo-ke with a silent "h"... for those not in the know its the term used for background blur, yes in photography blur has a name and its not "blur" its Bokeh, yes Bokeh.. Bo-Ke, I like saying the word it makes me sound sophistim'cated, its a Japanese term, the Japanese love their background blur so much they named it "BoKeh", now this may seem trivial but its actually far from it, you see the difference between an average looking photo and a professional one can be the blur oops I mean Bokeh.

Exhibit A - I took this image in Burma using my 50mm prime lens at f1.8, this means the Aperture blades (which work like the iris in your eyes) are at the widest setting, this creates a small area in the middle of the image which is sharp and the rest is blurred, you can clearly see the transition from blur at the bottom through sharp and then onto blur again, this is known as Depth of field (DOF) and gives the image a 3rd dimension, now this is all good and well but the real power of Bokeh is when its used to make subjects stand out from the background.

Exhibit B - this image was taken using the same lens on the same day and location in Burma, here you can see the subject is the focus and both foreground and background are a little blurred, hopefully just enough to give the image context, the challenge here was to show her in her workplace which is very busy but not be overly distracting and maintain the 3rd dimension to make the image interesting.

Exhibit C - here the background is burred completely allowing the subject to stand out whilst still providing context, there is enough information in the background to show where she is but not be overly distracting. Look at the character on her face, you can see her wonderful personality, I sat with her after taking this and showed her the photos she was such a delight I couldn't stop thanking her. Now some may say that it doesn't completely comply with the rule of thirds but I kinda like the green showing through the window so I didnt want to crop it down.

Conclusion, Bokeh is wonderful and very useful but not all Bokeh is created equal, the quality of the glass and even shape of the aperture blades will effect it, its best when it appears smooth and creamy, like a smooth, creamy, buttery, foamy flan or the succulent creamy crema on a half caf half decaf no milko frappe chino latte (hold the sugar) Mmmmmm... sugar... Anyway I think you get the message. Below are some other example photos Ive taken over the years to help illustrate my point, to achieve this you need good glass (i.e. quality lens) and a wide aperture, the wider the better, then position your subject far enough from the background so it falls into BOKEH.

Im off to get a coffee...

Colorizing

Like most I enjoy old B&W photography, its a window into the past and adding color to them can add a new dimension to an already interesting image. On this page a series of old Sydney mugshots from the Police and Forensic archives that Ive colorized. More of these amazing images can be seen at the Sydney Living Museum website.

Now its not as simple as it may seem, to get the skin right you cant just paint a brownish pink over the face and blend it down, you need to create multiple layers of varying colors, for example skin around the face has layers of fat around the cheeks, neck etc these appear slightly yellow, ears and nose have a reddish tinge due to blood vessels being closer to the top of the skin, parts of the skin may be darker due to more sun exposure, you really need to get the bioligy down, also direct light will make skin seem desaturated. Its a fine art that Im hoping to improve on over the years.

Why I Shoot RAW

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Took this with Nikon F50 on Fuji film in 2002

Remember when taking a photo was done using a film camera? Ancient right.. I learnt on these, I used to travel the world with my Nikon film camera and a large bag of Kodak or Fuji Color and Ilford B&W film, Id have to take log notes recording aperture, shutter speed or if Id pushed the film for that extra contrast, back in Sydney Id take it down to my favorite printers Charing Cross down near Bondi, days later Id return to pick them up then walk down to the beach sit down at a cafe and slowly go thought the images picking out the ones that I liked, recalling where I was at that moment and how that may have affected the outcome, judging my work this way was difficult but rewarding, to be honest although it wasn't as fast as it is now it forced me to consider each image and learn the hard way, that's not to say that chimping the back of a DSLR to check you've nailed the photo isn't as good, its just another way of learning. Back then I had nowhere near the understanding of post processing that I do now, I had a good idea of what happened in camera and thanks to photography school I knew how to develop B&W in a darkroom, but I didn't fully understand the colour lab process, what the machines where doing to the photo in order to print, I had no control over this process so if an image was over or under exposed or perhaps slightly green because I shot it under fluorescent lights I couldn't correct this without instructing the lab to do it before reprinting. Digital cameras made post processing easier however in the early days I started shooting jpeg due to file size limitations and so again I had limited ability to be able to properly edit the image. You see when shooting jpeg its the digital equivalent to the old photo labs but done in the camera itself at lightning speed, no more waiting days, difference is the labs gave you the negatives that contained all the information and a DSLR (or a smartphone for that matter) uses an algorithm to produce the jpeg then discards the RAW information, "what the?" its like throwing away the negatives man!! shooting in RAW allows you more information to use when post processing and file size is no longer an issue, but what can i do with this extra information I hear you ask.. in this blog I'll try and explain a couple reasons and give my understanding of it all.

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Contrast

Shooting RAW gives you access to more black and white information than jpeg, think of it this way removing colour information from a photo leaves behind a black and white image, its like stripping the leaves from a tree you're left with the basic structure, an image is a gradient from Black through Grey to White with colour blended in, if it does not contain the whole gradient looks flat, e.g. when you draw a ball or cylinder you increase the amount of grey to give the image shape, so contrast is basically the range of gradient in an image and the more the better, unless your going for a faded washed out look nothing wrong with this as long as it suits the look and feel. The image here was taken with B&W film, in Photoshop Ive added a green layer to part of it and voila! you have a colour image. I use this technique when colorizing, Increasing the contrast can really bring life to them.

Exposure

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Wet Monkey with baby, Burma

Like sunburn over or under exposed images look bad, you may have set the ISO and aperture just right for the scene but the cameras meter can be thrown out by a stray patch of light or the background may be brighter that the foreground, [Factoid: a common misunderstanding is that changing the ISO adjusts the sensors sensitivity to light, it doesn't work that way, in fact the sensitivity is set to one value depending on the camera and increasing the ISO merely amplifies the data collected, kind of like downloading a low quality mpeg then turning the volume up]. Shooting in RAW allows you to retain the full exposure values and adjust it in post, it can also be thought of like a photo cube of exposure values, jpeg throws this information away. This image illistrates the point, the day was overcast and foggy I was standing under shelter from the rain, the background fog threw out the camera metering and underexposed the monkey by about a stop, I was able to bring it back and retrieve information that a jpeg would have deleted, now this isn't an extreme example and thats because I absolutely nail every shot.. LOL I wish.. I just didnt was to show you my really bad shoots, fyi there's a lot..

Conclusion

Shooting RAW has saved my bacon many times and I really like bacon.. Travel photography is dynamic, sometimes things happen fast other times you can sit and wait for things to unfold, on any given trip I'll take anywhere between 1000 to 5000 images and after many years Im lucky to totally nail more than just a handful of images, most times I have to bring back information that would have been discarded by jpeg. Its just the nature of the craft, if I were at a wedding or doing portaits where the conditions are more under control Id still shoot RAW. Michelangelo once said "Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it" in my opinion you would not cut the stone in half and throw away the left over you would chip at it and allow the statue to emerge... Also I am not comparing myself to Michelangelo or any of the greats from the Renaissance, I took the images below many years ago on film, I stood in awe at the greats. wow this blog turned more into a film photography thing, Im new to blogging so all over the shop..