Top Rated Tutorials

Set Exposure By Aperture Or Shutter (2)

Here Ed answers the question: What should I do: 1. Set my lights up and then meter to the lights? or 2. Set my Aperture value and Time value and then adjust my lights to that? Read on to find out the answer.

Converting into Black and White (1)

Recently I was asked a question "How do you convert a photograph into BW?" Of course, we are talking about Photoshop and digital darkroom techniques. The simplest way is to use Mode, Grayscale. But there are several approaches that could be used to achieve different results. And these approaches I am going to cover in this article

There are GELS and then there GELS! (1)

Optical filters are for use over the camera lens and are usually made of optical glass, optical grade plastic or gelatine, hence the nickname gel. And on this page Ed explains how the gels are used in photography.

Gradient Level Corrections (1)

In this article I want to cover an alternative way to apply level corrections to a selected area of a picture with fuzzy edges. This technique is based on applying gradient fill to a layer mask, through which we select the content of the layer to correct the levels.

Reflectors Vs. Flash (1)

To produce good lighting outdoors photographers use various light modifiers, such as reflectors, diffusion panels, scrims and blockers. Some of these modifiers require a certain effort to set up and carry. The pros and cons of reflectors and flash in wedding photography are discussed by Ed Shapiro on this page

Selection - Color Range (1)

On this page I want to describe how you can select a part of the picture based on a specific color(s). It helps a lot when you want to select this sky for further modifications. This technique is very simple and that's what makes it a good one. You don't need any meticulous work to select pixels and the selections is more exact (has a better quality).

Sky Improvement (1)

This article is covering some operations that intend to improve the color of the sky in the image. If you have a photograph with a cloudy sky, then probably the sky is gray and tasteless. We will try to make it decent at least. We aren't the gods, but we have some powers. And what is interesting, that technique leaves the clouds (if the exist in the image) and makes the sky more contrast and blue.

Adobe Photoshop CS2 Keyboard Shortcuts (1)

There are many times when our workflow could be improved, one of those things is the accessibility to commands and features of Photoshop. Though you may find a whole bunch of tutorials and articles in the Internet with list of shortcuts, sometimes you need to set your own or look for ones, which you don't quite remember. Playing with some of the shortcuts I bumped into a dialog that allows us to set those shortcuts and see what is already there.

The Lighting Ratio Mystery - Solved (1)

There have been a number of posts questioning and arguing the subject of lighting ratios. On each post there have been good and valid arguments but mostly based on theory, the use of exposure meters and mathematics. As most photographers know, the lighting ratio determines the difference between the highlights and shadows in a photograph and this theory is especially applicable to portraiture. Knowing how to control the lighting ratio is enormously essential to fine portraiture because it affects the final image both from a technical and aesthetic standpoint.

F.R.E.E. Photography (part 1 - Feel) (1)

This is the first article (Feel) in the series where I present you a roadmap of a photographer: Feel, Reflect, Execute and Enhance (FREE). As I see it, there are these four stages that the master photographer has to go through in order to achieve a great photograph. In our busy and hasty age (the digital one) people who like photography usually go through one or two of these stages. But I feel that without walking the path from the beginning to the end we will not achieve great results.