“Creative Optical & Digital Filter Techniques [REVIEW]” plus 1 more: Digital Photography School

Creative Optical & Digital Filter Techniques [REVIEW]

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 10:48 AM PST

Creative Filter Tecchniques.jpg Plenty of people thought the advent of digital cameras would remove the need for filters. Wrong!

All it did was open up even more possibilities by way of post-shoot digital filtration/manipulation.

There are two ways to go: you may need filtration to correct the quality and characteristics of the ambient light; or you may desire to adjust the rendering of a scene to accord with your own personal vision.

Author of Creative Optical & Digital Filter Techniques Meehan points out that the earliest filters were used "to correct disparities between light and film." When B&W was king the resourceful portraitist called upon the effects given by soft focus or diffusing filters to remove skin blemishes or even to diffuse the natural world.

This useful book begins with a discussion on the intensity and contrast of light: how to minimise the former and adjust the latter. It also makes the point that using studio lighting gives you enormous control of the quality of light, by way of reflectors, softboxes, scrims etc.

A useful chapter touches on colour temperature and how to deal with colour casts and mixed lighting, an area that often confuses the beginner. Meehan uses a shot of NY's Grand Central station to illustrate his point; the scene is mostly lit with tungsten light but with masses of daylight streaming through enormous windows; he chose to white balance for daylight — the right decision.

He then gives a list of the most useful optical filters: the polariser, naturally, is first; neutral density filters come next; coloured grad filters follow, then soft focus, diffusion etc. These chapters are most useful for those utterly confounded by an excess of choice!

The latter half of the book covers digital software, stand-alone apps and plug-ins. Some of the products described are Pixel Genius' PhotoKit Color, Color Mechanic Pro, the iCorrect programs, Tiffen Dfx.

This book fills a pressing need. I hope all photographers get to see it, use it and benefit from it. Recommended.

Author: J Meehan
Publisher: Lark Books.
Distributor: Capricorn Link. Length: 160 pages.
ISBN 978 1 60059 580 6.
Price: get a price on Creative Optical & Digital Filter Techniques at Amazon.

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Post from: Digital Photography School

This Week in the Digital Photography School (16-22 Jan ‘11)

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 05:50 AM PST

Weekly Assignment

We finished up our Brand New to start off the new year. There are a lot of things that can be brand new. Like new gear. Our winner this week was devel’s photo of a new Nifty Fifty (as shot through the lens). This one had gorgeous, bright colours, the composition was very strong, and the box in the background was a great way to demonstrate that it is brand new. Our first runner up was CountryKim’s New Snowfall. Wow. I mean, what can we say? Fresh, brand new snow lasts for such a short time, and the ability to capture that single flake so clearly is definitely impressive. And last, but not least was yogijenn’s new knitting project. It’s pretty clear to see that this is a piece that has just been started. And this has the benefit of being both a brand new project, and eventually a brand new finished product too once it’s finished. Well done everyone!

We also started a new assignment this week, Spot of Colour. This one is tricky, so make sure you pay attention to what we are and aren’t looking for. What we are looking for in this assignment is a photo where there is an area of colour that your eye is naturally drawn to. A colour that is brighter than the rest of the photo. What this assignment is not, is selective colour. We are not looking for photos that are black and white with one section left in colour due to post-processing or a camera setting. It should be essentially natural to the photo that your eye is drawn to the spot of colour. As always, a quick reminder of the rules. First, your photo must have been taken between 12-26 January 2011. Second, your post must include the words “Assignment: Spot of Color” and the date that the photo was taken. Finally, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include some of the main points such as camera, lens, aperture, ISO, etc. Next week’s assignment will be Still Life: Food. Check out the assignment thread for some suggestions and helpful tips.