|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Like many people who've made the switch from film cameras to digital, I've discovered that the lens tools I once used so effectively on my cameras to soften, diffuse and vignette my images for quality "finished" professional results won't do for digital what they did for film.
I'm sure it's arguable by some that their diffusers still work fine, and I too have discovered that some tools still work okay under some circumstances; my Ziess Softar #1 seemed to offer decent results when photographing a single subject in the studio but I knew that the black netting diffuser that I used with my Lindahl Bell-o-shade no longer worked on the Nikon D70 zoom lens at the wider angles without showing lines in the image. Not a risk I was willing to take professionally so I just stopped using the Lindahl shade and drop-down filters for a while.
Then it happened. A savvy carriage trade-minded customer brought in a wall portrait that she had purchased several years ago by a photographer obviously using medium format lens tools like I was used to using in the past with my film camera. She wanted her new wall portraits to have that same "softened" look. So I arrived at the portrait session armed with my digital camera equipped with the very mild Softar Filter that works at any aperture on any lens thinking that this was good insurance at getting the kind of "softness" she could live with.
Understand that I knew any diffusion used on an entire family group portrait would be more exaggerated by their relative head sizes but I had explained that to her and she assured me she liked her portrait images "very soft".
While the images looked good on the small camera monitor, once I opened them up in Photoshop and printed them out as proofs I knew they were too soft. I called a colleague who is a digital expert and explained to him what I had done. He told me that you simply cannot use on-lens filters anymore for professional softening and diffusion without creating mush on 35mm type digital camera images. This leaves the special effects job now to the computer and not the camera. "But I've tried using Photoshop CS for their diffusion tools and what I get doesn't look like real photography," I complained, "The results are terrible." He agreed that Photoshop's filters weren't the right tools either to mimic the professional photography filters of the past but told me that there is a company that has a software program that is a plug-in for my Photoshop and has filter tools to recreate believable results for various levels of softening and diffusion.
The software is called "PhotoKit" and is available from Pixel Genius for only $49.95. I bought the Mac version and it is wonderful. I have played around with it now and have found that you can get varying degrees of whatever you want that looks similar to what you used to be able to do with your old lens filters and drop-down tools. Even more possibilities are now available to you. One of my favorites is the ability to lasso areas and "clear" the results of diffusion keeping eyes and teeth sparkly and sharp.
If there is a downside to doing your diffusion this way it's that the customer can't really see the results on the proof, so they have to "trust" your artistic license. But it was like this with retouching too so there will be a short new education curve for your clientele to learn, or to save yourself from disaster you might offer a second proof appointment to show the customer a proof of their selected images with the added softening or diffusion. It's going to take more time and you'll end up with having to rework some things more than you want so I'd only recommend this for customers like mine who's initial concern was the diffusion issue.
In summary, softening and diffusion can be done effectively and professionally but it's not as easy as it used to be when you'd just pick the filter you wanted and pop it over the lens. Your old on-camera lens filters will often turn your digital images to "mush" or images of weak contrast that may or may not be salvageable.
Tom Ray is a Certified Professional Photographer through the Professional Photographers of America. If you are interested in his full story please go to: http://www.rayphotography.com/HomeBiz2info.ht ml - Professional Photography: Success Without School!
Quite often I will have clients bring in old photographs... Read More
Night photos can take on a somewhat magical quality you... Read More
If you use a digital camera (I use a Canon... Read More
I love panoramas. There's something very appealing about their shape.... Read More
That's right, you go through all the trouble of making... Read More
Why Pinhole Photography?It's fun. It's creative. It's educative about the... Read More
The business of stock photography has drastically changed over the... Read More
Elephants in the Sky[1980s, Lee Evens in Mali, Timbuktu/Africa]Advance: Lee... Read More
Like most folks you have probably have organized and sorted... Read More
Looking at the digital camera, a person can visualize it... Read More
Ordinary photos of dull subjects do actually sell, but the... Read More
Looking at the most intricate details of the digital camera... Read More
There are a few very important tasks associated with using... Read More
Anyone with the right camera equipment, and the necessary skills... Read More
You are anxious to purchase your new digital camera! You... Read More
In a device such as a digital camera it is... Read More
Saturate yourself with your subject and the camera will all... Read More
The path to picking a digital camera usually leads to... Read More
When should you use hyperfocal focusing? Well, sometimes when shooting... Read More
One of the major problems of the larger cities of... Read More
Reflected Light Readings for Film and Digital ImagesIn order to... Read More
With modern technology in the form of SLR digital cameras,... Read More
So you have bought a camcorder and have shot some... Read More
There is one simple technique any body can do to... Read More
There are many different types of photography. You can take... Read More
Candid photography is photography that focuses on spontaneity rather than... Read More
Digital photography promises much. Store your photographs on your computer,... Read More
Gone are the days when you would need to employ... Read More
Everyone has a digital camera today and we all take... Read More
Love is in the air at the Venice Rookery. The... Read More
What have you done with the photos you've taken with... Read More
For years I wondered how big the bucks were that... Read More
The business of stock photography has drastically changed over the... Read More
Kids grow up so quickly and while we are often... Read More
Here's the challenge. You have to photograph small items for... Read More
Once in while I receive e-mails or phone calls from... Read More
Choosing the right digital camera for general use can be... Read More
If you are buying a new underwater camera or video... Read More
So, you have taken lots of pictures with your new... Read More
Remember the good old photography days?Film camera in hand, you... Read More
Purchasing any gift item for your child is a mind-numbing... Read More
Strike one! Strike two! Strike three!Baseball! America's Pastime, and a... Read More
There are a few very important tasks associated with using... Read More
Your lens is an essential element to good photographs. It's... Read More
The most important part of buying a digital camera is... Read More
Reality TV is experiencing an upsurge in popularity and its... Read More
Photography 101 Part One Equipment: camera, meter, flash, tripod This... Read More
We all love our animals. They do such funny, adorable,... Read More
Like most folks you have probably have organized and sorted... Read More
Digital cameras are available in several price ranges today. They... Read More
Photography Photography |