CEWE has launched its popular Our World is Beautiful European photography competition 2016 / 2017. Last year I was one of the judges and helped to select the amazing winners. This year’s competition is even bigger and better with an incredible set of prizes – it’s so good I wish I could enter myself! The competition runs until 30 June 2017 and there are six broad categories you can enter. So whatever you shoot, there is a category that’s perfect for you.
Learn how to create a filmic washed out and desaturated effect in Photoshop using Gradient Maps and Curves. It takes less than a minute to apply the technique, and is a fantastic effect for a wide range of images. The overall effect is similar to, but at the same time completely different to bleach bypass.
The YI 4K Action Camera enables users to shoot the clearest quality images with up to 120 minutes of recording time and is the latest release in the company’s successful line of action and home cameras. The camera can be controlled via an integrated 2.19-inch, 640×360 resolution touchscreen at 330ppi. With a full 160-degree viewing angle, the display ensures users can preview their videos on the fly and never miss a shot.
Learn how to create the ethereal Orton Effect in Photoshop. The technique blends blur and sharpness together for a dreamy effect that looks amazing with landscape photography. Blending blur with an image you’ve taken care to shoot with sharpness throughout may sound like a bad idea, but the two work in perfect harmony to create an effect in your landscape photography that’s subtle, yet distinctive.
The wet plate collodion process is becoming increasingly popular as photographers search for more unique, and equally eye-catching ways of taking photos. This almost abandoned technique was once the most advanced photographic process available, but was overtaken by dry plates, celluloid film and more recently digital photography. The effect is highly sought after because of the amazing quality of detail it adds to portraits. Here’s how you can apply the wet plate collodion effect to any portrait in Photoshop.
Transform a photo into an illustration / oil painting with this clever Photoshop trick. The technique gives fine details the appearance of brush strokes, and looks fantastic when applied to a wide range of different images. It’s a lot of fun, and can totally reinvigorate your approach to processing photos.
Learn how to create a hazy vintage effect in Photoshop. This simple technique is perfect for portraits because it adds a subtly haze and gentle warmth to your images that makes any image look like it was taken on a summer’s day.
Installing Photoshop Actions is one of the easiest tasks you can perform in Photoshop. All you have to do is double click on the .atn file, and the Actions will load into Photoshop automatically. Ocassionally, this doesn’t work so you have to install them manually. Here’s how it’s done…
Protect your images online by adding copyright and contact information to the EXIF data. It obviously won’t stop people from using your images without permission, but it will provide all the information needed to contact you. Adding keywords will help to make your shots show up in search engine results.
Middle Black Clough Waterfall in the Peak District is an amazing location for long exposure photography. And with interesting streams leading up to the falls, there are plenty of photo opportunities that could easily keep you busy for a day. The main falls themselves are in a small area, so you’ll need a wide-angle lens to fit everything in. Something like a 16-35mm on full-frame and 10-20mm on APS-C cameras is perfect.