Recently I was thinking of a gift for a friend of mine and I decided I’d make a collage from some of my non-personal photos. The collage turned out to be a 36″ x 24″ poster with one 18″x12″ hero shot. I think for someone who pursues photography purely as a passion and doesn’t have the time to organize his work into a portfolio, this template does the job.

Here’s a preview of what it turned out to be. Related photographs here.

I met several challenges while I was making this collage. Lightroom wouldn’t let me save the collage as a saved print in TIFF format. Another major one was sizing and aligning the images in a grid with the required border. But finally I managed to get it done. And so I thought of sharing it so that you don’t have to go through the same pain.

The one that I had printed was created in Lightroom and then the file was saved and printed to a file. I then sent it to the printing company and voila!

However as far as printing is concerned, I find Photoshop a lot easier to work with. I thus sat and created a Photoshop template also within which you can place your photos with the right profile and all and save for print later, in whichever format you like.

Lightroom Collage Template

Lightroom Print Template (If you are on Windows, just extract and place the file in this folder: %appdata%\Adobe\Lightroom\Print Templates\User Templates)

Photoshop Templates

Though the size of these files seems trivial, be warned. After extracting these will occupy upwards of 600MB. The files are in Adobe RGB profile and set to print a size of 36″ x 24″ at 300dpi.

Guides Only: Just drag and resize photos as required and print or save for print later. You may not want to hit the print button unless you have a printer suitable for such large prints.

Guides with Smart Objects: This allows you to place your photographs as smart objects and the photo-borders are taken care of automatically by the layer effects.

Using the templates should be straightforward. Here’s a little video to get you started.

It’s the Indian new year today. The last year was a tough one. My father was diagnosed with cancer in Jan 2014. He left us on 25th Aug 2014. He was my inspiration behind music. And he was the one who let me hold a camera for the first time ever. I don’t remember the brand or make, but the camera had no film inside. For me he cut a roll of translucent paper and inserted the roll inside a camera just like you do with film. And then he instructed: “Every time you press the shutter you’ll see an upside down image of the scene that’s in front of the camera.” I had to keep the camera’s back open and I played all day. I made my brother pose and act in front of the camera the entire time — not that I’d see much since it just worked on the principle of the pin-hole camera, but I did want a real subject to pose. It was a manual camera with no auto forward. So after some clicks the paper roll would come to an end and had to be reinserted.

I bought the Nikon D80 in the early half of 2008. I had another not-so-serious Nikon film camera earlier which I rarely used — no fun clicking and not knowing what you shot, unless you spend the rest of the film shooting the walls and the sky and rush to have it developed. I made around 60K pictures with the D80.

I bought the Sony RX1 in 2013 and have made quite a few good ones with that as well. However as you know my primary job is to design websites for my clients and that’s my bread and butter. I never got a chance to make a proper collection. However recently I was thinking of a gift for a friend of mine and I decided I’d make a collage of some of my non-personal photos. So very quickly I rushed through my collections and narrowed down on these.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 10000

The famous Gwalior fort has been photographed from many angles and by so many photographers that it’s almost become a cliche. I never planned to get this shot. This was shot with the RX1 when the light-and-sound show was in progress. The high ISO of RX1, the dynamic range and the bit-depth all came together to make this a unique one. The scene is so dynamic and RX1 was even able to capture the blue in the sky even though shooting a bright subject.

Nikon D80, 18-200mm@120mm 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

A sunset… one of the many sunsets I’ve shot. I seem to have so many sunsets in my collections that now I consciously avoid photographing them. I don’t play with white-balance for these. I just turn down the exposure compensation to a negative value (-2 or lower) to get the saturated colors. Else you see the sun is high and so bright that it will totally wash away the scene.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@200mm, 1/6 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600. Handheld.

The moon behind a coconut tree while I was enjoying the beach breeze in Goa.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@200mm 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, -1.3EV

My first sunset photograph before I became a sunset expert. I waited for an hour at Gwalior fort to get this one right. I like the golden lining on the clouds and the framing that gives it a narrative and context.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 8000

The common every-night roof-top moon. I played with in-camera white-balance.

RX1 35mm 1/400 sec, f/2, ISO 100

My daughter’s shoes. She was less than a year when these were bought. Women go gaga over this family of pink tones.

RX1 35mm 1/100 sec, f/2, ISO 100, -3EV

At Lonawala on a family holiday.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 400

An electric Diwali-lamp.

RX1 35mm 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100

The roots of a tree. I liked the forms and planned to turn it black and white. But I liked it with an emerald touch.

RX1 35mm 1/4000 sec, f/10, ISO 100, -1EV

Another sunset. I planned to have some florals to add a touch of beauty. This is what came out.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@24mm 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

I was on this beach at Goa and had this leaf figured out. But my son conveniently walks into the scene. I kept this one for the trivia.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@18mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO100

A boat ride. I chose it for the colors.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@200mm, 1/640s, f/5.6, ISO100, -0.7EV

Some flowers.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@170mm, 1/1000s, f/5.6, ISO100, -1EV

Some more flowers.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@200mm, 1/640s, f/5.6, ISO100, -2EV

A lotus. It had been plucked by someone and was handheld when I took the shot. You’d discover an ant at the top of the stem on careful inspection.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@200mm, 1/4000s, f/5.6, ISO100, -2EV

The Tighra dam reservoir. I went for the golden waters.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@18mm, 1/200s, f/3.5, ISO100

Some rocks on a beach at Goa.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/8, ISO 640, -2EV

Another sunset. I tried to capture the beautiful tones instead of the sun.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 3200

I was returning from the country-side when I saw this fire in the field. I loved the combination of the deep blue and the orange.

RX1 35mm 1/400 sec, f/8, ISO 100, -2EV

Another sunset.

RX1 35mm 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 100

Oops. Yet again.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 25600

I had walked 20kms and finally climbed a hill to reach the Tighra reservoir. What I reached was a moon smiling from behind the beautiful florals.

RX1 35mm 1/10 sec, f/2, ISO 25600

This is what the reservoir looked like when climbing down. The spiral adds to the composition.

RX1 35mm 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 100, -3EV

The last sunset in this collection. I promise.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/8, ISO 3200

It looked like a normal pond on a cold, breezy, clouded, chilly, winter day. Then I played with white-balance.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 1250

Car tail-lights.

RX1 35mm 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100

A lotus.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 250

A saree (dress) I bought for my lovely wife.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 640

My violin.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 250

Some “rakhis” displayed hanging at a shop.

RX1 35mm 1/640 sec, f/2, ISO 100

I’ll leave you with some flowers.

Time and again some readers have questioned my skills as a photographer. I’ve also been declared as an internet expert. Let’s just say I’m not a pro. But I hope you’d agree I do get lucky sometimes. I hope you enjoyed these. Please do share these with your friends and let me know which ones you like.

Girish is a India based photographer. He is a self-taught professional photographer who loves to travel the world and shoot all the genres of photography. He is a full time IT Consultant and part time professional cameraman on the weekends.

Currently, he is working as a SAP Technical consultant with Accenture India and alongside nurtures his passion for photography by taking up photography assignments for photographing people, editorials, industrial projects and commercial work.

In this interview, Girish talks about his passion and personal life as a photographer.

Tell us something about yourself.

My name is Girish and I’m a self taught photographer who loves to travel the world. Pune is what I call home. I love shooting everything. For me, it’s about happiness, hope, love, pain, life, style, and real. I’m friendly and warm. I started photography a short while ago, I’m self taught. I have a strong bond with my style and fight fiercely to keep it and perfect it. I shoot people and emotion. I shoot weddings and love. I shoot buildings and lines. I shoot industrial projects and commercial work. I do editorials. I shoot fashion and nightlife. I shoot the world the way I see it when I travel. I am, A PHOTOGRAPHER, and I don’t desire to be called a certain kind of photographer.

Where are you based?

I am based in Pune and I operate in Pune and Mumbai (India).

You started as an IT professional and worked with some big names in the IT industry. How did you transition to photography?

I am working as a SAP Technical consultant with Accenture India. My photography journey started during my college days when I used to trek and keep traveling. I used a point and shoot camera to do photography back then. My hobby later turned into a profession lately in 2007 when I purchased a Nikon DSLR. Since then I have never stopped clicking.

How would you describe your photographic style and how it has developed over the years?

I don’t have any particular photographic style. I shoot everything — right from landscapes, insects, macros to portraits, festivals, weddings etc. And for me everyday is a new learning.

What was your first camera, and what equipment do you shoot with these days?

My first camera was Olympus C760 (point and shoot), which I still own. Then I used a Nikon D60. Currently I use Nikon D7000 and a couple of lenses like Nikkor 18-55mm, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR1, Nikkor 70-300mm MF lens, Nikkor Teleconvertor 2.0x, Raynox DCR-150 & 250 (macro adapters) & some lights.

At what point did you realize that you should take up photography assignments?

In 2008, one of my photographs was shortlisted by Late Mr. Gautam Rajyadhaksha for the Sakal Reflections Exhibition and this is how I got inspired to take it up professionally.

Tell us about your first break as a commercial photographer (who was your first client and how did you get your first assignment).

My first commercial assignment was a folio shoot for two of my office colleagues who had been trying to get into modelling. My clients approached me after looking at my work on my Flickr & Facebook galleries.

Generally how do you get photography assignments?

Normally I get most of my assignments through my Facebook page (URL: https://www.facebook.com/GirishS.Photography).

What has been the biggest challenge with the commercial side of photography?

The biggest challenge what I see in commercial photography is convincing the client. There is so much of competition that the client wants the work be done in low budget.

What kind of marketing do you do for promoting your photography?

I am very weak at marketing. I normally promote my photography through my Facebook page, Flickr pro account & 500px plus account.

What has changed in the time you have been shooting commercial work? For better and worse?

I don’t think anything has changed. Only the expectations of the clients have changed.

What kind of investment and revenue generation is there in the field of commercial photography?

Equipment is the big investment that one has to put in for commercial photography. Second is the softwares and tools that you use for post processing.

You are working almost all genres like people, landscapes, macros, etc. Which is your favorite genre and why?

My personal passion is for portraits.

I’m very inspired by your it photography. For somebody wanting to get into this area of photography what are your suggestions?

Getting into portraits is easy and at the same time it is difficult. You need to do your homework very well and understand your subject.

What are you thoughts about getting a formal education in photography? Would you recommend against it?

Photography cannot be learned. It is an art that someone carries within. Formal education will not help in any way.

If you could go on assignment anywhere in the world to shoot whatever you wanted; where and what would it be, and why?

India of course. All around India, to experience various cultures and visit heritage sites. You won’t find so many variations and so many things in any other country else than India.

Before you start a commercial shoot, how do you prepare yourself?

Before any commercial assignment, I sit with my team and the model and understand what is the requirement of the assignment and how we gonna execute it. This way the model is also comfortable during the shoot.

Where do you look at yourself 5 years from now.

Traveling around with my camera, shooting for calendars, fashion events, models.

Who is your inspiration?

There are various people who have been my inspiration like Andrea Klarin, Richard Warren, Sue Bryce, Tarun Khiwal, Atul Kasbekar, Nicolaas De Bruin, Ashok Salian & Prabhuda Dasgupta.

A website or blog you visit often.

Flickr.com, 500px.com are the sites that I visit everyday.

What other hobbies do you pursue other than photography?

I love to travel, trek & listen music.

What type of camera, lenses and lighting equipment do you use?

Nikon D60 for a standby, Nikon D7000 and couple of lenses like Nikkor 18-55mm, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR1 , Nikkor 70-300mm MF lens, Nikkor Teleconvertor 2.0x, Raynox DCR-150 & 250 (macro adapters) & some lights.

What has been the most exciting photography assignment.

The ones which I decide within seconds and shoot have been the most exciting ones. One of them is a folio shoot done for a model called Roshani Jain; album name Krasivaya (you can find it on my facebook page). I called up Roshani early morning and went on a drive and shot with whatever clothes she was carrying.

Another one is a recent shoot with Isha Phatak, which was again planned at the last minute. (You can check the pictures on my Facebook Page, album name — Just Clicks)

Does the camera and equipment really matters or is it the artistic side of photography that weighs more?

Obviously, the artistic side.

What’s the best part of being a photographer?

The best part of being a fashion photographer is that the women listen to the photographer. (Laughs ..) I just feel like an ordinary guy when I am with my camera.

Can you present one / two favorite images of yours? What do you like about them?

The following two images are my favorite shots. The first one is my favorite for the obvious reason that this image was shortlisted by Mr Gautam Rajyadhaksha and was displayed in the exhibition.

The second one is special to me because when I planned the Rajasthan Trip, I had already visualized this frame in my mind. And after waiting for a long time, the right time did come and I got what I wanted. It was like a dream come true.

What your post-processing workflow is like? Which editing tool do you find yourself using the most?

I normally process my images in Lightroom 4. I mostly do light corrections. Other tool is Photoshop and Portraiture & Exposure is what I use sometimes for the extra effects.

What has been the happiest moment in your photography life?

The happiest moments in my photography life are when my photographs are sold and printed as cover pages of books.

What advice do you have for photography enthusiasts who want to go professional and take it as a full time job?

It’s a tough path. One should be willing to do their homework everyday and work hard. Decide what you want to click and learn from your bad photos.

How can our readers connect with you?

They can connect with me through my Facebook page here: GirishS.Photography. Or can drop me a mail at: girish.suryawanshi@gmail.com.

With thanks to Girish Suryawanshi for taking the time for this interview.

In the digital age, online photo-sharing has become a buzz word. Flickr, Picasa, Facebook, Photobucket, etc have facilitated sharing the photographs online. Primarily conceptualized as photo-sharing and organizing services, Flickr and Picasa have emerged as the two most popular platforms for storing, organizing and social sharing as well.

While Flickr is a service powered by Yahoo, Picasa Web Albums is Google’s initiative to encourage usage of online services for storing, sharing and growing online communities, there are a subtle differences and personal choices which make one better than the other.

Be it Flickr or Picasa, both the services are strong and offer scores of features that it becomes difficult to have an inclination towards just one of the two. While Flickr is widely used by the photographers to maintain their photo-streams, Picasa Web Albums on the other hand being a Google service enjoys the benefits of integration of various Google services like Picnik (for editing the photographs) and Blogger for publishing the photographs on the blogs.

Even though the primary purpose of both the services is to facilitate online sharing and organizing, there are some features and USPs of each which render them a distinct identity.

Picasa vs Flickr — Storage

Both the services are good at providing free space for storing the images. While Flickr seems to provide unlimited free storage, Picasa limits the free space to 1 GB.

• Flickr: Flickr offers 100 MB free-space on monthly basis, the counter is reset every month; which translates into unlimited free space.
• Picasa: Picasa offers 1 GB free-space to the users and uplifts the limit at the rate of $5 per year for 20GB (to 1TB for $256 per year).
  

Upload Limit

There are certain restrictions to the size of uploads when it comes to using free services offered by Flickr and Picasa.

• Flickr: You are restricted to upload the image file not more than 10MB for free version (and the limit of 20MB for pro version) and 2 videos not exceeding 150MB (or 90 sec in length).
• Picasa: With limited space, the option to use the space is yours. There is no limit as far as the size of the files is concerned. While it gives the benefit of for photos less than 800×600 pixels and videos less than 15 minutes in duration. They do not count towards your 1GB quota.

Distribution And Licensing Of Images

Flickr facilitates the distribution of images by offering the image at varying resolutions. When you upload the images, Flickr automatically re-sizes your images to thumbnail, small, medium and large and also offers you the facility of licensing the images for commercial use or to be used as creative commons. Picasa on the other hand offers just the original version of image and all the images are licensed as copyrights.

Search Efficacy [Picasa Or Flickr]

Along with sound Flickr search (which enables you to search through tags, sets, groups and photo streams), it is surprising to see that Google Image search indexes the Flickr images while leaving the images uploaded to public web albums created in Picasa Web Albums.

Community Building Features

Picasa makes it easy to share the photographs with family and friends and provides the facility of inviting comments or creating public photo albums to which even your friends can upload the albums. Flickr on the other hand thinks in terms of building the community of people with similar interests and professional instincts at large. Flickr enable the users to create group pools to share the work with the experts. Picasa is very basic and immature from professional point of view but a strong contender for personal and private use.

Flickr OR Picasa — Final Words

Picasa and Flickr both provide the features of efficient online photo-management and sharing application, it is really difficult to rate one service better than the other. Picasa enjoys the benefits of Google services and products like Picasa desktop application, Piknik (online image editor), etc and provides the features for creating slideshows and collages, for which Flickr provides tools and there are other third party tools as well for enabling the same features in Flickr.

BTW, which one do you think is better —  Flickr Or Picasa Web Albums?

Author’s Intro: This is a guest post by Subroto Mukherjee. Subroto is an amateur photographer and has taken up photography as a passion. Apart from that he loves to read, write and explore more about photography; more from the technical aspect though.

Beats there the heart so calloused by life’s ups and downs, by the monotony of daily existence, that it cannot appreciate a glorious sunset? I ask this rhetorical question to drive home the fact that a magnificent sunset can be uplifting and rejuvenating, if not a surreal or even a spiritual experience.

Way back in 1977, a photograph entitled Leopard at sunset in one of the volumes of the Life Library of Photography had brought me alive to the possibility of sunsets. That amazing picture is permanently embedded in the mysterious memory banks of my brain.

The picture depicts a leopard in a tree, standing menacingly over a gazelle it has just killed and dragged into the lower branches. The limp form of the little gazelle and the hunched figure of the fearsome predator are silhouetted against the gigantic sun — immense red ball of fire — the sun so big that it practically fills the 35mm Kodachrome 64 frame. 2,000 mm or more of magnification, a Nikon F2AS Photomic coupled with superb composition and exposure had produced a masterpiece of wildlife photography.

Cut to 5th September 2012. Something made me drag my eyes away from my monitor. The walls of my room were flooded with orange light. Instantly realizing what was happening, I grabbed a camera and ran upstairs to the terrace. My heartbeat accelerated as I glanced at the scene — a glorious sunset was on the cards!

The sky was ablaze with vibrant colors. Swirling air currents in the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere due to the cessation of the monsoons had given rise to a random phenomenon where the air was particularly prismatic in character. Amazing cloud patterns drifted among updraughts of earth-warmed air colliding with cooling layers to produce kaleidoscopic effects. I gazed at the spectacle for a while before I suddenly remembered what I was there for…

I zoomed out to the widest setting — 24 mm — that my lens was capable of and began shooting at the lowest ISO setting, varying the focal length and composition occasionally while relying on the camera’s in-built exposure meter to give me the slight under-exposure I needed to preserve the highlights (a hangover from my Kodachrome days, it works quite well in digital photography as well). Check out more tips on shooting wild sunsets here. I had also taken the precaution of setting the picture control to Vivid and I got more than I’d bargained for!

Even as I shot frame after frame in rapid succession (oh the joys of digital photography!), I was keenly aware that I was unlikely to ever see again such a splendid sunset.

My eyes refused to believe what was happening as I recorded the multiple shades of reds, the churning yellows and authentic golds that somehow managed to survive in that boiling, frothing cauldron of wild, untamed color as the sun sank into its fiery bed beyond the horizon.

This was the nature at her rawest; the nature in her most primitive mood. It reminded me of what I’d read of the fledgling Earth — 4 billion years ago, with seas of liquid magma cooling over the eons to finally transform into a green and watery planet — our beautiful home planet.

Happening to look up, I saw another life form gazing at the heavenly spectacle with rapt attention…

Now the sun was sinking fast, as it always does in the tropics. Those who remember their schoolboy geography will recall that the circumference of the earth at the equator is 40,070 kilometers, and as the day is 24 hours long, the equatorial speed of rotation is 1670 kilometers/hour (1070 miles/hr). This explains why the sun seems to set faster, the closer you are to the equator.

I shot on, knowing quite well that the dynamic range of my camera’s digital sensor would only be able to record a fraction of the DR that my eyes were seeing. The human eye is a highly sophisticated optical device that has evolved over 3 billion years of evolution, so we must excuse camera manufacturers, who’ve been tinkering with their technology for only a few decades.

The mesmerizing sunset kept unfolding its beauty every minute and I enjoyed taking a peek with my camera and capturing the colorful hues and also, photographing the silhouettes.

All the nature seemed to be holding its breath as the sun died in the west. Then it was gone, and only a few glowing embers spoke of its vanished glory.

I kept shooting frame after frame as the sun sank rapidly out of sight below the horizon, leaving the world to darkness and to me.

Author’s Intro: This is a guest post by Subroto Mukherjee. Subroto is an amateur photographer and has taken up photography as a passion. Apart from that he loves to read, write and explore more about photography; more from the technical aspect though.

What do you do to improve your photography? Do you prefer joining a photography school or simply follow the pros?

Well, both the styles of honing your skills have their own advantages, but the latter is more practical and result oriented. Professional photographers have a knack to share what they have learned over time by making the mistakes. And you can benefit a lot from their knowledge and experiences.

Michael Zelbel and Drew Gardner are doing the same for you by introducing the video coaching program called “The Productive Photographer“. This video coaching program brings to you the best of two personalities — Michael Zelbel, who has been coaching & teaching photography for a decade now and Drew Gardner, an award-winning UK based photographer.

The Productive Photographer is an amazing opportunity to learn & practice photography at your own pace. This video coaching program consists of 16 lessons, distributed over more than 60 short videos (max. 10 min. duration) where both the photographers have come together to demonstrate the topics from a professional and beginner’s angle alike. Some of the most interesting lessons covered in this video series are:

1. Developing your personal signature style.
2. Choosing the appropriate personal projects to hone your skills.
3. Michael Zelbel’s guide to building a photography portfolio in 20 minutes.
4. Training your mind to generate creative photo ideas.
5. And everything that you’d want to know about professional aspect of photography like finding the right clients, etc.

With this video training program in hand, you get lifetime access to the video lessons. You can watch these videos online or you can download them for watching offline. Along with the videos, you also get access to other downloads as well which will help you in practicing the lessons.

You can learn a lot from the personal experiences of both the photographers beautifully summed up in this video training program. Want to learn more about this program — check out “The Productive Photographer” here.

Here’s a mega collection of Lightroom presets for portraits. If you are looking forward to compile an album of wedding photographs or planning to showcase the family portraits, it is a great idea to add a “WOW” factor to your images with these quick and smart Lightroom presets.

Want to add that vintage look or just the dash of the retro style — these presets will help you achieve the effect you are looking for! Just get your hands on your favorite presets and get ready to impress the viewers with the little pop that these presets add to your image.

1. BDP Glamor Look
   
2. 300 V1 (2)
   
3. 300 V2 (2)
   
4. 4600-K
   
5. 4800-K
   
6. 5000-K
   
7. 5200-K
   
8. 5400-K
   
9. 5600-K
   
10. 5800-K
    
11. A Color Boost
    
12. AH Vanity Fair (3)
    
13. AH Vanity Fair (2)
    
14. Allen Portrait Vintage
    
15. Auto
    
16. Auto Fix All Purpose
    
17. Autumn (Pretty Presets)
    
18. Clarity+10
    
19. Clarity+20
    
20. Clarity+30
    
21. Clarity 0
    
22. Clarity -10
    
23. Clarity -20
    
24. Clarity -30
    
25. Clarity -40
    
26. Col Color Infrared
    
27. Col Cross Process (a)
    
28. Col Cross Process Alan’s Custom
    
29. Col Cross Process (b)
    
30. Col Cross Process Blue Green
    
31. Col Cross Process (c)
    
32. Col Cross Process (d)
    
33. Col Cross Processed
    
34. Col Cross Process Matrix Style
    
35. Col Cross Process Red
    
36. Col Deviant
    
37. Col Deviant (2)
    
38. Col Dragan (1)
    
39. Col Dragan (2)
    
40. Col Dragan (4)
    
41. Col Dragan (5)
    
42. Col Dragan (6)
    
43. Col Fried Eggs
    
44. Col Hamburg’s Funky Twist
    
45. Col High Key
    
46. Col High Key (1)
    
47. Col Indian Summer
    
48. Col Lab Style
    
49. Col Lomo With Velvia
    
50. Col Nikonians – Mode Illa
    
51. Color Optimum
    
52. Color Pop
    
53. Color Pop (2)
    
54. Color Pop Pretty Presets
    
55. Col Strong Velvia
    
56. Col Tico Hamburg’s Funky Twist
    
57. Col Traits NB 3
    
58. Col Twisty Fries
    
59. Col Vibrance Of Blurry Images
    
60. Copper Skin
    
61. Creamy Vintage II
    
62. Cross Process Cyan
    
63. Desaturate Me
    
64. Fashion Darlings Chiffon
    
65. Fashion Darlings (Velvet)
    
66. FixelPix Summer Final
    
67. FlixelPix Dramatic Color
    
68. Graduated ND .5 Stop (Large)
    
69. Graduated ND .5-Stop (Small)
    
70. Hawaii Five O – Light
    
71. Hawaii Five O – Medium
    
72. Hawaii Five O – Strong
    
73. Highlight Recovery 20
    
74. IR Colour – 1
    
75. Is This The One – 1
    
76. Is This The One (Neutral)
    
77. Mad-dash
    
78. Matt’s 300 Look Soft
    
79. Matt’s 300 Look Strong
    
80. Matt’s Edge Look (Hard Edge)
    
81. Matt’s Edge Look (Soft-Edge)
    
82. Matt’s Wedding Fantasy
    
83. Movie Looks Blue Dawn
    
84. PH Vintage – IV
    
85. PH Vintage – V
    
86. PH Vintage – VI
    
87. Post Sun flare {RAW-Pretty-Preset}
    
88. Post Warm Sun {RAW-Pretty-Preset}
    
89. Quick & Beauty (1)
    
90. Quick & Beauty (2)
    
91. Quick & Beauty (3)
    
92. Raw Color Everyday
    
93. Raw Color Everyday (Lighten)
    
94. Raw Color (2)
    
95. Raw Color (3)
    
96. Raw Color (4)
    
97. Retro Vintage (2)
    
98. Retro Black
    
99. Retro Lila Style
    
100. Retro Red
     
101. Retro Sepia Dreams
     
102. Retro Vintage (1)
     
103. Retro Vintage Look
     
104. Rockwell Warm
     
105. Silver Lining Pretty Presets
     
106. Stellar Guru Greengold
     
107. Summer Haze
     
108. Sunset Senior Portrait
     
109. Tinting Brown
     
110. Tonality Y
     
111. Tonality YP
     
112. Toners B&W Infrared
     
113. Toners Light Mocha
     
114. Twilight (Lite)
     
115. Twilight (Medium)
     
116. Twilight (Strong)
     
117. Ultimate Fighter (Lite)
     
118. Ultimate Fighter (Medium)
     
119. Vignette 5 Extreme
     
120. Vintage Aged
     
121. Vintage Grandma Lemonade
     
122. Vintage Instax (Dark)
     
123. Vintage Muted
     
124. Vintage Antique
     
125. Vintage Brighten
     
126. Vintage Classic Muted
     
127. Vintage Fairytale Dark Edge
     
128. Vintage Instax
     
129. Vintage Portrait Pop
     
130. Vintage Pow
     
131. Vintage Retro Warm
     
132. Vintage Sunkissed
     
133. Warm Toner
     
134. Wedding Fairytale
     
135. Wedding Look
     
136. Wedding Look Bright
     

Have you tried shooting the portraits against the sun? Most of us simply drop this idea because shooting against the sun is quite tricky. However professionals embrace the beauty of this natural source of light in multiple ways; artistic lens flare being one of them.
This creative lighting technique does a wonderful job in photographing the portraits with a difference. Instead of just employing selective focus or using soft focus filter for photographing people, you can create some quite interesting and impressive portrait shots by mastering the lens flare.
Here are 20 beautiful examples of how professional portrait photographers and photography enthusiasts achieve hazy, surreal vintage effect through otherwise unwanted lens flare.

1. Rebecca ’13
   
2. Beauty Flare
   
3. Adam I
   
4. Into The Glare Of The Sunset
   
5. Bethany
   
6. Silvia
   
7. 16
   
8. Summer Haze
   
9. The way summer feels
   
10. Kenzie & Hillary
    
11. Mel
    
12. Taylor And Dana
    
13. 77/365
    
14. Yeah
    
15. Kenzie
    
16. Wedding Bubble
    
17. Life Is What Happens While You Are Busy Making Other Plans
    
18. Tania
    
19. Nostalgia
    
20. Snow_6
    

This soft, faded effect is simply mind-blowing either working with portraits or simply any other subject. We have just scratched the surface in this post. Watch out this space for an upcoming post on photographing the portraits into the sun to get awesome lens flares.

Have you ever picked up your camera and went out on city streets to explore the wonderful opportunity of photographing people and events — with no specific plan in mind? If not, this is the right time to do it. Photographing on street is a fun in itself. Even when you don’t have absolute control over composition, lighting and posing, you can still get some amazing & interesting shots. The best part of street photography is perhaps the ability to unfold unique stories. And here we have some of the awesome stories to share with you in form of these interesting street photographs. It was quite amazing to discover that rangefinder photographers love to capture all that rush, activities and madness going on the streets. Check them out here!

1. Cycle Rider
   
2. Urban Shelters
   
3. Street Lights
   
4. Street Shooting
   
5. Cigar Humor
   
6. Mardi Gras
   
7. Daniel Devenport
   
8. Girl Waking Man
   
9. Waiting For The Tram
   
10. See The Contrast
    
11. Band Of Brothers
    
12. Dear Dog
    
13. I Am Not Perfect, But Neither Are You
    
14. Levitating Monk
    
15. Waiting For The Last Tramway
    
16. Behind You
    
17. The Family Outing
    
18. Side By Side In The Rain
    
19. Simon Cowell’s Got Talent
    
20. Reflections
    
21. Elderly Woman’s Hands
    
22. Vespa Scooter
    
23. San Francisco
    
24. New World
    
25. Devil
    
26. Night Stroll
    
27. Raindrops Keep Falling
    
28. Der Innovative Mobilist
    
29. Solo
    
30. Some Days Last Longer Than Needed
    

Hope you liked the images. We also have an awesome collection of enthralling street photographs here. Check them out as well and don’t forget to share your Flickr links in comments.

Photography can never be imagined without lighting. Light is the soul of photography. It has always been human’s intent to know in detail about the factors affecting the subject matter. Photography being more an art than the science, artists are more concerned about practicing the art, than knowing the ins and outs of what’s happening behind the scenes. Here are 15 examples of beautiful lighting.

1. Light Cloud In The Dark Sky
   The photographer said about this photo:”This light cloud was appearing on very dark sky so suddenly, that everything around was in such a strange light….I could only get some shots…and so suddenly it was away and the sky was dark as before…what was it, phenomenon of Nature or something else? I’ve a bit saturated for more effect…it was totally white…”

   

2. Strong Light Through Clouds Above Field
   
3. Light Over Low Dense Trees
   
4. Light in Evening
   
5. Lighting On Trees In Parks
   
6. Building Lighting
   
7. Rainbow Light At Horizon
   
8. Light At Sun-Set
   
9. Light Clouds
   
10. Light Rays In Morning
    
11. Lighting At Bridge
    
12. Light Pods
    
13. Water Fountain Light at Night Garden
    
14. Light Around The Middle Of The Photo
    
15. Light At The Middle Of The Photo
    

Share Your Photographs With Interesting Effects
Feel free to share your photographs in our Flickr Group APN-readers and drop us a comment.

We received great love from all our readers for the first assignment “Beautiful Flower Assignments”. A lot of our readers participated and submitted some great shots. We are very happy to announce our next photography assignment — “Photograph Your Camera“.

Trying to photograph your primary camera pushes your creativity out of your comfort zone. You have to get to grips with a new camera, experiment with it in various compositions etc. The results will be interesting and creatively satisfying. For all of the hobbyists who own only a single D/SLR it’s fun photographing your primary photography companion and sharing it’s pics. Please let us know how you took the shot. Do mention:

1. The camera model which is the subject of your entry.
2. The camera model (or cellphone etc.) which you have used to photograph the subject.

Also mention the settings your alternate camera was on, while shooting the photograph of your primary camera.

Go To The Thread For “Photograph Your Camera” Assignment →

A lot of new things are happening at APN — a brand new design, photography forums and now a weekly photography assignment as well.

We are happy to start a regular forum feature on APN — APN Assignment. And the first topic for the assignment is Beautiful Flower Photographs. Be it taking macro shots with lot of fine and delicate details, playing around with high key & backlight magic or simply the bokeh effect complimenting the beautiful flowers; flower photographs simply look great. What adds to this is the fact that flowers are pretty easy to come by and are a popular and common subject for almost anyone.

If you’re just starting out with photographing the flowers, here are useful links to help you take great flower photographs:

• 7 Killer Tips For Taking Awesome Flower Photographs
• 55 Beautiful Flower Photographs For Inspiration

Equip yourself with these tips, seek inspiration and get ready to submit your flower photographs here: Beautiful Flowers Assignment.

And while we are at it let me take a moment and tell you about a few shots that I myself took.

I’m clueless about the name of this flower. As much as they look beautiful, the scene was all cluttered with the city buildings in the background and it actually was a parking lot atop the hill. Carefully positioning the camera and adjusting the height helped change the background to the beautiful mountains (which I believe compliments the flowers).

The shot was taken at ISO 100, 1/1000, f/5.6 with a -1 stop of exposure bias.

Here’s another one. This is a lotus I photographed a while ago. The special thing about the story is that this flower had already been plucked by someone and was handheld when I zoomed in to 200mm and captured it on the fly. There was no thinking involved neither was there time for any. Luckily everything just fell into place; the negative space worked well, the colors in the background complimented the color of the photograph, just fine! Came out to be in golden ratio (if that makes a difference). I wish I had a little softlight, but then that’s the way things work most of the time when shooting outdoors.

The shot was captured at ISO 100, 1/3200, f/5.6 with an exposure bias of -2 stops. The beauty of the composition lies in the fact that this photograph looks just as gracious in black and white as in color.

Head on to the photography assignment beautiful flowers, submit yours and even tell the story of your own photograph →

Go To The Thread For Beautiful Flower Photographs Assignment →

Here are the featured entries to this assignment.

Crash Taylor is a Nottingham based Wedding Photographer. His unique style of capturing the moments has brought him several laurels and recognitions. He was voted as one of the top 10 UK’s winter wedding photographers by Professional Photography Magazine in 2009. He took to photography as a passion and is actively engaged in bringing a difference with his photographs. And guess what, he loves to interview other wedding photographers as a part of inspiration for becoming a better photographer. Recently we had an opportunity to interview him and know more about his secrets — how he started with photography and how he excels at what he does. Let’s check out the tricks of the trade of one of the finest wedding photographers here.

So why photography and why wedding photography?

Photography and film-making is my passion. I love being able to create and now being able to shoot stills and motion with the same camera is awesome!

Can you please describe your style?

I get asked this all the time and I just shoot what I visualize in my head. I guess what’s going on in my head is my style.

What kind of a qualification background did you need to be where you are now?

I have a business and criminology background but I have always carried a camera with me.

What is the best part of being a wedding photographer?

The best part of being a wedding photographer is the money! Just kidding, what I enjoy most is telling the story of the day through my images.

What kind of equipment (body/lens/lights) do you carry on a wedding shoot?

Very basic equipment. Two Canon 5D Mark II’s, a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 L IS, a Canon 16-35mm 2.8 L II, 4 speedlites, a lot of reflectors and a video light.

What kind of challenges did you come across while honing your skills, getting initial projects and establishing your career?

I haven’t had any challenges as of today. I believe having a business and marketing background helps. Pressing the shutter button is something we don’t do often enough.

Please tell us about your most exciting assignment.

I have had a few assignments in Spain and France which were beautiful.

Recently I got to photograph a marriage in the family (I’m not a pro). I shot a few thousand photographs (of which a majority were not keepers). While every photograph cannot be a keeper, I feel guilty of my success rate. What would you say about shooting at a frame-rate like that? It seems to be warranted by the kind of results required.

I get very hyper when I’m shooting so I do take a lot of photos. I make sure I get the safe shot and another one to be safe :-) and then I play. I start climbing trees, rolling around on the grass, jumping in swimming pools, lakes, seas whatever it takes to get something different.

How do you work with backlit scenes? Do you use artificial light?

I prefer to overexpose the background so my subject is metered properly. I love dreamy overexposed backgrounds. Natural light rocks.

From a beginner’s perspective, there are so many sliders, controls, effects available in a post-processing software. What makes a wedding photograph different from a portrait? What do you aim for during post-processing and how do you achieve it?

First of all, you need to know your camera inside and out. Period! Post production is all about making an already awesome image into something more visually awesome! Don’t forget that. Some wedding photographs are portraits but that is where it stops. A wedding photographer has to be able to capture moments, if he/she doesn’t they are out of business tomorrow.

Sometimes things do not work out as planned. Has it happened it to you? Please share your tips to be prepared just for times like these.

Things usually never go as planned. If you are a true professional image-maker, you will make beautiful visuals for your clients no matter what arises.

Tell us how can aspiring photographer get started with wedding photography. Also, how do they pitch their services when they are still struggling to build a portfolio?

I definitely believe in assisting someone first. I assisted a brilliant wedding photographer in Spain for a year, which prepared me for the solo game. Pitching your services when you don’t have a good portfolio is hard. You just have to keep shooting until you are proud of it.

What are some of the books you recommend?

I’m an avid photography book collector and some I can recommend for people starting out is:
Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Boxed Set: v. 1, 2 & 3
Books are very personal to each photographer. I do however recommend you read a good photography magazine each month to keep up with the scene.

How do you market your services? What role does a website play in promoting your business and making it accessible around the world?

My website and blogs are my shop window. They better be good because there is a lot of talent out there. Constantly experiment and work your ass off and things will happen.

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

I see myself racing cars with my son. I see good things!

What is that one thing you’d want to change about your photography?

Absolutely nothing, it’s my adventure. When I press the shutter it’s for me.

Which software do you use and recommend?

I use Lightroom and Photoshop but there is a lot of good software out there.

Any set of actions or presets that you use frequently or cannot live without?

I love Nik, Yervant actions, Jeff Ascough Actions, Marcus Bell Actions, Red Leaf Actions, Totally Rad Actions. I have them all but most of the time a curves layer adjustment is all you need.

Can you please describe your photography workflow for our readers?

Photography workflow is Lightroom only and maybe I will take a few into Photoshop for my personal enjoyment.

Please tell us about other photographers whose work you admire.

Helmut, Bailey, Rankin, Albert Watson, Robert Frank, Stephen Shore, Eggleston, Bruce Davidson and so many others.

What do you do when you are not photographing?

Playing with my son and cleaning my M3.

How can our readers contact you?

You can visit Crash Taylor’s website and blog to get in touch with Crash Taylor.

Here are some of the other photographs from Crash.

Birds are the most agile creature. Photographing birds require a lot of patience, observation and practice. But that’s not all. It also needs you to equip yourself with proper technique and long lenses. While the equipment itself costs you dearly for photographing the birds, the other challenges include getting the light right, snapping the composition and capturing the action of birds on flight. And here you get some beautiful photographs of the birds. Check them out here!

1. Bird On A Wire
   
2. Surfin Bird
   
3. A Pair Of Brown Pelicans
   
4. Mocking Bird
   
5. Long Billed Curlew Bird
   
6. Ghost Bird
   
7. Sideways
   
8. White Peacock Again
   
9. Ready
   
10. Tickell’s Blue Flycacther
    
11. Para Vos
    
12. Bird On A Peer
    
13. La Elegancia De Los Cisnes
    
14. Touching Heaven
    
15. O Bem Te Vi
    
16. Great Egret
    
17. Praying
    
18. Canada Geese
    
19. Jonge Koolmees
    
20. Solitude
    
21. Gulls Into The Sunset
    
22. Hummingbird Portrait
    
23. Guess Who Got It
    
24. Play Nice
    
25. Birds
    
26. The Drongo Love
    
27. Coney Island Bird Man
    
28. Bird On A Wire
    
29. Iguassu Falls
    
30. Hummingbird
    
31. Bird Duck Mallard
    
32. Green Bea Eater
    
33. Notes Of A Rock Song
    
34. Lake Onatrio Swan
    
35. Make Way
    

Watch out this space for tips of photographing the birds.

Visual arts is highly influenced by the creativity of an artist. And that is why most of the times it is debated that the camera doesn’t matter, it is the skill, talent and art of an artist that comes to foreplay. While composition and lighting form the founding pillars of photography, photographer’s vision and imagination lets the magic happen. This magic can take you to the real life fine details and the same magic can take you to the surreal world — the dreamy world of imaginations.

Surrealism by its very nature is mostly contradicted with photo-manipulations. But here I’m talking of natural photographs that heighten unnatural theme — the dreamy world of beauty not visited by anyone. Sometimes employing HDR, other times simply utilizing the natural light effects during haze, fog, etc or sometimes times just retouching the images for subtle effects like split toning can greatly help in heightening the sense of surrealism.

Surreal images have a unique power of attraction that invite you to explore the world of dreams and imagination. Also, it is a unique idea to get creative and artsy. So, how about getting started with some inspiration for surreal photography.

1. Dream Island
   
2. Gran Vía 100
   
3. The Early Birds
   
4. Less Is Blue
   
5. Gefroren
   
6. Soon The Day Will Be Gone
   
7. Surreal
   
8. Off The Beaten Path
   
9. Morning Spirit
   
10. Till The End Of Time
    
11. Under Ice
    
12. Une Visite Sous Leau
    
13. Sunset Dreamer
    
14. Il Disco Si Apre
    
15. Visions
    
16. The Distant Mist
    
17. A Dip Anyone
    
18. Ghost Hill By The Ghost Lake
    
19. Routine Doesn’t Have To Be Boring
    
20. The Lunatics
    
21. Black Beach
    
22. Face It
    
23. Surreal!
    
24. A Soft Summer Night In The Marsh
    
25. Morning, Coffee, Yellowstone, Fog
    
26. Falling Into Sky
    
27. Forest Dream
    
28. Underground Shopping
    
29. Shiny Day
    
30. Moonlit Beach