Best products from r/postprocessing

I agree with /u/minilock that just about any newer IPS LED monitor will work, but they definitely aren't all equal. If you can afford it, the top of the line option is Eizo or NEC - but I've had quite good success with ASUS ProArt displays as well. It's mostly a question of color gamut. That Eizo is physically capable of showing you more colors than a lesser display.

The good news is that the vast majority of what you'll be printing actually does live inside of the sRGB color space - so I'd look for a display that specifically says it supports most of that. The Asus ProArt line supports 100% coverage of the sRGB color space - and the Eizo can show the majority of the Adobe1998 color space.

Now - aside from monitors, it's important to realize that if you are making the prints yourself at home/office instead of sending them out to a photo lab, then you'll also need a calibration device that can create paper profiles (the profile is based on the type of paper and ink you're using, on which printer).

I recommend the ColorMunki Photo. It's going to be painful on the wallet, but if you're printing at home and not working with paper profiles then you'll be doing quite a few rounds of print, adjust in photoshop, and print.

If you are sending images to a print lab, then a less expensive calibration device is totally an option. The ColorMunki display is totally solid, as is the Spyder line.

One thing to watch out for - once you've done your calibration, make sure you have disabled any OS options that will automatically adjust screen brightness based on ambient conditions. Otherwise your prints could turn out too dark or too light if you're editing and the screen brightness goes up or down to compensate.

Good luck!

Oh no, not at all... $800 is fairly high for a 'nifty fifty'. The price is because the Sigma Art 50 is pretty much the sharpest lens on earth (which makes it a bargain when you compare to, say, a Zeiss Otus

Actually, on the subject of those Sigma's... I got the 50mm first, but I found 50mm on a crop sensor camera is kind of an awkward focal length. You can't go wide enough to capture, say... a building across the street, or the head+shoulders of a friend sitting across from you at a small table. But you can't zoom in either.

Later I got the 18-35, and now the 50mm basically gathers dust. The zoom range of the 18-35 is limited, but it's just 100% more useful than 50mm. It's kind of my default lens now. It's a great lens.

But anyway, if you don't wanna spend a ton and you want a 50ish mm, and below f/2, there's a bunch of options.

The basic Canon 50mm 1.4 is $300 and is pretty sharp.

The Canon pancake lens is really well loved, surprisingly sharp and so small that it weighs nothing. A sigma art is quadruple the weight lol.

This Sigma Art 30mm seems to be on sale right now. $130 off. That's an outstanding deal, and you might find 30mm more useful than 50. https://www.amazon.com/Sigma-30mm-F1-4-Lens-Canon/dp/B00BQXL8BU/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=50mm+1.4+lens&qid=1568732777&refinements=p_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A3130996011%2Cp_89%3ASigma&rnid=2528832011&s=photo&sr=1-1

If you're a lightroom guy, master the general panel in the develop module. The basics of color balance, contrast, highlights, black point, fill light and the differences between exposure and brightness for example, will put you ahead of a large chunk of the other folks out there.

Don't worry about technique as much as making the image match your vision, a great book on this is Vision & Voice by David Duchemin (fellow Vancouverite). The book goes into how it's ok to change an image from blue to brown for example if that matches your vision of what you were trying to create.

Pardon that diversion :) Hope the above helps.

The most important ones though are in the general panel, bringing in image to life from the "blah" that it tends to come out of the camera with. As jnphoto mentioned, shooting in raw is pretty important if you're learning PP, gives you the most image data to deal with.

HTH, HAND

Here are the only two I have read specifically for lightroom, I highly recommend both:

for workflow and basic functionality (workflow isn't as sexy as editing, but if you get a good system down, it will essentially become second nature and allow you more time for editing):

Lightroom 2: Streamlining your Digital Photography Process

For the creative process: (arcterex already mentioned this one.)
Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (Voices That Matter)

Anything by David Duchemin is great, he also has a blog and some great ebooks

This is a good blog also:
http://lightroomkillertips.com/

Wow, this response saddens me. I’m sorry you took my critique so personally but I suggest you grow some thicker skin if you wish to continue this endeavor. Don’t ask for a critique if you aren’t prepared to receive one. Don’t be so defensive and read what I have to say with an open mind.

Photography is art and art is subjective. My opinion is just that. It confuses me that you ask for an opinion, receive it, then demean the person for doing what you requested.

Asking for feedback is never a waste of time. Especially if you don’t like what you hear. I recommend you put yourself out there more not hole up in solitude. Maybe try some local photography clubs. You can bring and discuss your photos as well as others. It is a fantastic way to learn! It is humbling! And maybe since you will be getting feedback in person you won’t be so butt hurt about it.

Edit: Also, I recommend The Art of Photography. It might change your mind on the bit about art not being about portraying a message but simply being aesthetically pleasing. PM me and I’ll buy you a copy.

I do know that the first time I read about it, Ryan Brenizer was saying he typically did 4x4 matrix shots. The guide you have with the zig-zag seems more complicated to me but I rarely if ever do any stitching, so maybe it's not so bad.

That being said, I think equipment is the main thing. I don't know what kind of camera you have, but the bigger the sensor the better, and the longer/faster the lens, the better. I'm honestly not sure if an 85mm at f2.0 would be better or worse than a 300mm telephoto at f/5.6 without trying it out. The best would be something like this but I'm guessing you don't have 6 grand to drop on a new lens, haha :)

But I guess if you stitch more photos together you can make up for almost any lack in equipment.

/u/Keetner mentioned some very good points regarding the actual composition of the photo so I won't reiterate what he has said other than to say by and large I do agree with him.

My 2 cents on it though is that for a family photo there is really only one actual family member who's face you can clearly see and in a complimentary way (I am thinking of the lady in the photo). The child's face is a little blurry and the father and other child you can't really see at all. As such, for me, it isn't a very strong photo, well not a strong family photo anyway. I think the idea of a collage might be a bit better. Look at maybe getting one of THESE kind of frames and getting a selection of all the good ones you have of them to get the whole family covered - one with the father and son, one of the two kids, one of the husband wife e.t.c. Of course this is assuming you have these photos....

As someone else has said as well, at the end of the day, it is a present from you, so they ultimately will be happy for the thought and will appreciate the effort no matter what you decide to end up doing....

Yes. And it's actually quite easy.

Consult your user manual to raise your mirror up for cleaning. Use a rocket blower to blow out dust with lens mount facing down so dust falls out. Use a loupe with a built in light and inspect sensor for large particles. Carefully brush off the particles with a clean camel hair brush. Blow out the camera again. Large particles may scratch the sensor during swabbing. Next, special swabs are designed for full frame or APS-C sensors. Lightly spray sensor cleaning solution on the swab and only make 2 passes per swab, once from left to right and then back from right to left. Then, using your loupe, check the sensor for remaining residue or dust. The amount of shots in the image in this post indicates, most likely, a need for more than one cleaning. Always use a new swab, otherwise you may be just smearing old dirt or introducing new air particles. You are now complete!

Also, you can take test shots by closing your aperture and take a longish exposure of the sky or other bright light source. Take this to the computer and zoom in. Before and after pictures of your cleaning will sometimes surprise you. I have found no need to take test shots, but I could see it being enlightening.

There are plenty of YouTube videos that explain the process of cleaning your sensor and taking test shots. Once you've purchased these tools, you'll have them forever. No need to send your camera off to the dealer and wait on shipping, or have to spend $75 for someone else to do it.

Sensor cleaning kits will give you everything you need: https://www.amazon.com/Movo-Essentials-Cleaning-PRO-Microfiber/dp/B077YZB3H6/ref=mp_s_a_1_12?crid=2ONN8QWGWT3O7&keywords=sensor+cleaning+kit&qid=1551330868&s=gateway&sprefix=sensor+&sr=8-12

This is one of the best photographic purchases I've ever made!
And one of the cheapest :)

You're welcome ;)

This laptop has a solid-state, a strong processor, more than enough ram for now (and ram is a very simple upgrade that you could make for $50 down the road should you need it), and also a pretty great graphics card. I actually have this laptop as a complement to my desktop for when I travel, and as a bonus you can run games like Overwatch, the Witcher, and Skyrim on high settings.

Adobe has some pretty good tutorials, if you're looking to learn a specific thing. Otherwise, basically just messing around with Photoshop helps a lot. Observing the changes that each tool makes sticks in your mind a lot better than being told exactly how to do something. Also, Nik Software has some good filters you can demo and/or buy. I use Color Efex Pro 4, and the skin softener might help you out a lot with your model shots. This book is pretty useful, if you have the time to work through it. I'm taking a class right now, but I honestly have learned more through messing around myself than what the teacher has specifically taught us.

I use a Sony A7R3, so my sensor size is different, but here's what I use:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K8MTQGY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Works amazingly well, I simply dab drops onto the swab on both sides, swipe back and forth top right-top left and bottom left-bottom right delicately a few times, and done. Make sure you pick the right size sensor cleaning kit for your camera. To confirm no specks, just up the f aperture to something like f/22, while aiming at something flat, like a white sheet of printer paper. Any specks, just reuse the swab again.

​

This the the video guide I used for it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAiTy3qGg2Y

Thanks a bunch!

Every photo since 2013 makes use of these speedlites : http://www.amazon.ca/Neewer-Speedlite-Panasonic-Fujifilm-single-contact/dp/B004LEAYXY They are regarded as the best speedlites for their quality/price ratio.

I also bought these reflectors : http://www.amazon.com/Neewer-43-Inch-Collapsible-Multi-Disc-Reflector/dp/B002ZIMEMW

I had the silver one positioned at a 45 deg. angle acting as a key light, reflecting the sun coming out the window.

I'm playing with some umbrellas and softboxes these days, but I'm achieving a lot already with my speedlites and reflectors.

Good luck!

you can take the exact same shot over and over for median stacking to reduce noise, no need to alter settings. You are right that 25s is right on the edge of causing star movement.

https://petapixel.com/2015/01/06/avoid-star-trails-following-500-rule/

I would still try median stacking @ 20 seconds with a couple shots, but you're correct- you may need a lens that can open wider to get your exposure short enough for this technique.

Fast wide angle lenses aren't cheap unfortunately. Here is the bottom of the barrel for your application. Rokinon qual control is shit so one copy will be great another will be crap.
https://www.amazon.com/Rokinon-Ultra-Digital-Cameras-10M-C/dp/B00JD4TCR6


Everyone likes this one, if you can scrounge up another 100$.
https://www.amazon.com/Tokina-11-16mm-AT-X116-Digital-Cameras/dp/B007ORX8ME/

You can also rent these from a place like lensrental.com to see if you want to save the money to own one.


Edit: median stacking intro: https://petapixel.com/2013/05/29/a-look-at-reducing-noise-in-photographs-using-median-blending/

Honestly most are, you can even buy a controller that was made to be used for audio, and program it for lightroom.

This is a pretty good one, but there are a lot of others that will be also good.

I took a really close look at your two pictures. First things first, it's pretty obvious why it didn't work as intended.

• 1. The background image is brighter.
     
• 2. The background image is slightly off.
     
• 3. The focus of the background image is set on the wall, the focus of the main image is set on the chair/person.
     
     For the first point, was shutter speed set manually? If yes, did something change about the light sources? (What I noticed: Compare this to this, there are also more details visible on the chair to the left in one image). Steady light conditions are crucial to the sucess of this technique.
     
     For the second point, you wrote that you used a tripod. But that doesnt save you from the slight tilt you get when pressing down on the trigger. You might want to pick up one of these, they are also great for long exposure shots at night where the slightest movement of the camera gets you a blurry picture.
     
     For the third point, did you use manual focus? If yes, did you simply forget to keep a steady plane of focus (e.g. do the shot with the person first and then don't change the focus)?
     
     You should also keep in mind, that the way you had your subject sit on the chair creates dark areas which would be illuminated if it wasn't for the chair and seem slightly off once it's gone. For painting away the unwanted objects you also may want to not use a "fancy" brush as you did in your attempt, because that results in jagged borders when working close to the body.
     
     As a bonus, here is the picture as you wanted it (file size got a little large because it's a .png), I simply cut him out nicely and pasted him into the background shot. That's basically what you are doing too when you paint over everything but him. This works too, but has 2 drawbacks. His shadow isn't in the picture (but the shadow of the chair isn't either, so it's kind of an advantage actually). It also takes longer and isn't excactly as much of a photographic achievement as one of post-processing...
     
     If you take the above points into consideration and keep everthing else on manual too, I don't see why it shouldn't work.