Photography - The best and the worst: September 2013

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Convert images in Black & White

Drinking cat - B&W image - photo by ClaudioTodaro.com

Most of us love black & white pictures, they are part of our memories and they are an artistic expression. How can we transform the pictures from our digital camera to B&W?
The first and quickest way is to set our camera in B&W mode, this is quick, this works but it has a very important downside, it is very difficult to add the colours later on.
In my opinion, it is much better to have the option to choose the best between two different kind of colour grades in postproduction instead to have just one kind of image type.

Therefore, the other most effective way is to use one of the many photo editing software (GIMP, Photoshop, Elements...) to change the "Saturation" value to "-100" (or "zero" - this value is related to the software of your choice).
Please find an example below.

Before After

Saturation setting to trasform a colour image in B&W - photo by ClaudioTodaro.com

Once the "Saturation" has been set then we can change other parameters such as "Exposure", "Temperature", "Tint" and "Contrast", accordingly with the actual image and our personal taste.

For example, moving the "Tint" cursor/value from one side to the other we will notice how the density of the image increase or decrease.

Please find below the final result of the above example:

Brighton in B&W - photo by ClaudioTodaro.com

B&W from colour image - photo by Claudio Todaro

I hope you enjoyed this simple and short article related to B&W image conversion.
Feel free to follow this blog and ask any questions... remember that answer is not granted

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Sony Smartphone Lenses - QX10 & QX100

QX100 lens turns your smartphone into a professional DSLR

When I first read about something new from Sony I was honestly very skeptical, it is because the last few years of Sony products and marketing. In the last ten years Sony has been able to lost the leadership in all the main markets and technologies (except maybe for the game consoles, PlayStation). This time instead Sony come up with something really innovative and appealing.
Bluetooth lenses that we can use plugged to our smartphones, Android or Apple, or remotely using the Bluetooth or NFC technologies to pair them our devices.

These lenses, the QX10 and the QX100, have been presented during IFA electronics fair in Berlin and the details are as following:

QX10 = f/2.3-5.9 lens and 18 megapixel sensor - probable cost about £180.00
QX100 = f/1.8-4.9 Carl Zeiss lens and 20.2 megapixel sensor - probable cost about £400.00

QX10 lens turns your smartphone into a semi-professional DSLR

The comfortable use of this portable lens can really change the photography vision and way to take pictures, especially for old people like me used to move around a studio with an heavy 6X6 Pentax. Using these lenses remotely will be possible to explore new angles and possibilities. Creativity will be more free to express itself and probably we will be able to plug those lenses to our laptops/tablets/PCs too.

I add to the article this short but enjoyable video from Sony. The video shows as comfortable and easy could be to take high quality images in any circumstances.

Feel free to follow this blog and ask any questions... answer is not granted.

by Claudio Pertini

Thursday, September 5, 2013

PHOTOSHOP retouch gone wrong

Retouch - Photoshop or Gimp are amazing software that help to improve the images quality

Magic Hands

Photoshop or Gimp are amazing software that help to improve the images quality.

The results could be really satisfactory but as per any software/application from a wonderful instrument the human kind can create abominations, monsters or just funny images.

Please find a few of them on this post. I hope they will make you smile and I hope these will help you to think while you retouch the pictures, fingers crossed we will not find our images any soon on this post ;)