Browsing all posts in "Photography".

Photo Shoot/Edit Music Playlist

And now for something a little different! I have a couple of playlists on my iPod, one that I like to play during a photo shoot (unless the photo shoot is of a person, then I let them play their own playlist), and one that I like to play while I’m editing my photos. There [...]

Going Pro – How to Prioritize Gear Purchases

Unfortunately, most of us work with a limited budget when it comes to purchasing photography gear. Once we consider taking our photography to the next level and going pro, having the right gear becomes even more important. Not only is it important to have the right gear to capture the shots, it is also important [...]

Ten Photography Goals for 2012

Last week Tiffany invited everyone to grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable. I thought I would suggest something a little stronger as I list my goals for 2012. So grab a cold one and get comfortable. To be very honest, I rarely write down goals but usually have them accessible in my head. [...]

Sharpening De-Mystified

We all want absolutely tack-sharp photos. We all know that sharpness begins with the shot itself – there is no saving a blurry photo in post-production. We are somewhat familiar with sharpening techniques in Lightroom or Photoshop, but what is the best way to apply sharpening for landscapes? Portraits? Cars? Street scenes? When is the [...]

Ten Attributes of a Good Photograph

By Steve Russell All of the attributes I’m going to discuss in this article have been discussed at one time or another in an article, or in multiple articles, on Beyond Megapixels. Aside from reminders being a good thing, we thought it would be helpful to have all of the attributes in one article in [...]

Twelve Goals for 2012

Grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable, because it’s time once again to start thinking about our goals for the new year! I can’t believe 2012 is just a few weeks away – where did the year go? I do one of these lists every year, because I want to continue to learn and [...]

Monthly Photo Challenge – December

The Monthly Challenge for December is bokeh. There is one thing about this challenge that make it a little more than just bokeh. For this challenge the bokeh must be of either light or snow as shown in the images included with the article. What Bokeh is: Bokeh is the out of focus portion of [...]

A Splash of Color in Lightroom

Here is how to add a splash of color to a black and white photo, using Lightroom 3. The original photo (SOOC): I want to make the entire photo black and white, with the exception of the red stairs. In the Develop module, click on the Adjustment Brush, and in the tool menu that appears, [...]

Review: Lensbaby Composer Pro

Oh, oh, oh, how I LOVE the new Lensbaby Composer Pro. Lensbaby has revised their original Composer with heavier construction, a Double Glass 50mm selective focus optic with drop-in aperture discs, and upgraded swivel ball and focus mechanisms. Where the swivel and focus on the original Composer felt a little “gritty”, the swivel and focus [...]

Advanced Tips for Better Photography

By Steve Russell This is the third article about Tips for Better Photography. In early October Tiffany offered a list of five Beginner Tips for Better Photography and then a couple of weeks later she and I collaborated on ten Intermediate Tips for Better Photography. Of course, that means that I get/have to write the [...]