Gavtrain.com – Page 22 – The place to learn Photography and Photoshop

Gatwick Aviation Museum News

Over the past few years I’ve been a regular visitor to the Gatwick Aviation Museum, it’s easily my favourite place to teach photography. It would seem I’m not alone for my love of this unique location, as I know many photographers have made the effort to visit this amazing place.

Anyone who visits the museum will have almost certainly have met Peter Vallance, the owner and driving force behind Gatwick Aviation and it’s with immense sadness that I have to let you know that Peter passed away earlier this year.

Those who met Peter, will remember him as one of life’s bigger characters. He was totally passionate about his aircraft but he was equally enthusiastic to share that passion with everyone else, including us photographers who have flocked to his museum over the past few years.

Sadly the museum will be closed to the public for the time being but the trustees plan to reopen to the museum to public once again later this year. My one to one training sessions at Gatwick Aviation will continue as usual.

Peter Vallance had become a good friend and will be sorely missed by all who’s lives he touched.

Mug Shot Background

Last week I released a video called two portraits, one light and ever since I’ve been getting a constant stream of requests to share the mug shot background I used in the final photo. The background was one I made a while back for a photography workshop using a combination of grungy textures and a bit of Photoshop know how.

The background is just a simple JPG file which you can adjust to your own needs. For example you may wish to adjust the brightness using Levels or add a splash of colour with the Colorize option in Hue/Saturation.

Download instructions are below and once again I’m sharing the JPG file through my Adobe Creative Cloud page. No sign up is required to get a copy of the template so you’re free to jump in and make your own triptych images.

Download the Mug Shot background by clicking here

Usage rules
The image is copyright Gavin Hoey 2013. Use is limited to any personal, non-commercial purposes. Please share the Friday freebie by linking back to this page. Do not redistribute the original image without permission.

Download instructions
Click the link https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Mmmm3K1utNb0duUlQ4eVZQMkk/view?usp=sharing

1. Click the Download button

2. The download should start automatically

Five myths about Image Stabilisation

Canon calls it image stabilisation, Nikon uses vibration reduction and Sigma has Optical Stabilizer. The name may be different but the aim is the same. IS, VR and OS all promise the chance to shoot sharper shots at slower shutter speeds.

I love Image stabablised lenses but they can’t work miracles, so lets dispel a few myths.

IS lenses will stop blurred images
Image stabilisation will certainly reduce camera shake and often by a considerable amount, but let your shutter speed drop to low and your photo will still blur because of camera shake. Although image stabilisation will lower the shutter speed at which camera shake blur will happen, it can’t completely remove it.

Of course IS can do nothing to stop motion blur which is when your subject moves during the exposure.

My advice… I love IS lenses but beware of their limitations

IS must be switched off when using a tripod
Generally speaking this is a good idea. Many IS system get a little confused by tripods which can lead to soft or blurred images, but as you can see in this video I leave my IS turned on when using a tripod.

So am I risking my photos being blurred? Well I’ve lost count of how many times people have pulled me up on it. The thing is many image stabablised lenses, including my Canon 24-105L, are what’s known as tripod aware which means the IS switches itself off when it’s not needed.

Whilst it’s fine to switch IS off on tripod aware lenses, you do run the risk of forgetting to switch it back on.

My advice… If you’re not sure if your IS lens is tripod aware then switch it off.

IS can replace a tripod
No image stabilisation system can completely replace a tripod but if I’m honest it can reduce the need for a tripod.

Tripods allow super long exposure, slow you down (which is good for composition) and give unrivaled sharpness to a photo.

My advice… You can’t beat a tripod but you don’t always need one.

IS lenses are always sharper
Well no, not always. As a general rule to avoid camera shake you want your shutter speed to be equal, or better still, double the lens focal length for a sharp shot. So when I’m hand holding a 200mm lens, I like my shutter speed to be 1/400th second or more.

If it suddenly drops to 1/100^th sec, an IS lens will give a sharper shot every time. However what if you’re using the same 200mm lens and your shutter speed is 1/2000^th second? In that case the advantage of IS lenses is the square root of nothing.

My advice… Non IS lenses are just as good as IS lenses at fast shutter speeds.

IS, VR, OS… they’re all the same
Well nearly. Some IS systems are better at stabilising then others. You’ll often see then rated as the number of stops improvement you’ll get. The best IS lenses offer around 4 stops but there’s more to it then that.

Many lenses will have more then one mode of stabilisation. For example you may get a general IS and a panning IS settings. The panning setting will reduce vertical shake only, which can be very handy for sports photographers.

My advice… More stops of IS means more money but buy the best you can afford.

Grungy triptych template

As you take more photos, you’ll need to find more ways to display them. So todays Friday Freebie is a triptych template that uses up three of your photos in one go,

As you can see from the example here, the template has three spaces into which you’ll need to add your own images. An alternative would be to use one image but break it into three pieces. Download instructions are below and once again I’m sharing the JPG file through my Adobe Creative Cloud page. No sign up is required to get a copy of the template so you’re free to jump in and make your own triptych images.

Download the Grungy triptych template by clicking here

Download instructions
Click the link https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Mmmm3K1utNNzZPMHNQX0VVUG8/view?usp=sharing

1. Click the Download button

2. The download should start automatically

How to use the template
To add your own photo, first select and copy the photo you want to add. Then jump over to the template, Click inside one of the black squares with the magic wand tool and choose Edit – Paste Into (Edit – Paste Special – Paste Into in Photoshop CS5 & CS6)

You can then resize the photo before pressing enter to committing to the change.

Usage rules
Usual rules apply. The action is copyright Gavin Hoey 2013. You may use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only and please do not redistribute without permission. Thank you and enjoy

2 Self-Portraits with 1 light

When I first started to learn about lighting I focused all attention on the complexities of flashes first and foremost. Of course whilst lighting is the cornerstone of great portraits, so is an ability to get the best from your model and trust me on this, that can be a lot harder to master.

One way to practice portraiture is shooting a self-portrait project. It’s a great way to practice and perfect various lighting arrangements without the need of a model, subject or assistant.

In this video I’ll show you how to shoot two very different self portraits but remarkably, the lighting will be identical for both. The only thing that will change is the background.

Why change the background, you may ask. Well, the first shot has a black, low key background and the second set of photos has a grey background, which is much simpler to remove and replace with a new background in Photoshop, as you’ll see in the video.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/C2b61bZ-J44[/youtube]
If you can’t see the video Click Here

Gear used in this video

Interfit Collapsible Double Sided Background, Black / White

Canon 60D

Canon 24-105mm L f/4 IS

Vanguard Alta Pro 263AT Tripod

Vanguard GH-100 Grip Head

Adobe Photoshop CS6

Canon 580 EX II Flash

Flash bracket

Interfit air cushioned light stand

Silver reflective umbrella

(All links go to Adorama, who sponsor all my videos)

5 Things Top photographers do & the rest of us don’t

At some time or another we’ve all looked at the work of top photographers and wondered… What makes their photos better then mine? Is it because they use the best camera gear, work with the best models or get access to locations that mere mortals like us can only dream of? Well perhaps but here are five things top photographers do that may be you and I don’t.

1 Fill the frame
From landscape photographers to portrait photographers there’s one thing that all top photographers know and that’s to fill the frame with your subject. Now I’m not talking about simply zooming or cropping in closer, although that can be one solution. I’m talking realising what’s important to your photo as you’re looking through the viewfinder and pressing the shutter when the composition is exactly what you want
Top Tip: If it’s not part of the story, don’t have it in your photo.

2 Revisit a location/subject
Like all photographers I look at the work of my peers and wish I could shoot an image even half as good. From time to time I’ve even gone to the same location to try and recreate the photo. Sadly it’s never quite the same.

So how do top photographers get great photos? They return to the shot again and again and again until they get it right. Each time they learn a little more about where to shoot, when to photograph and what makes a good image. You may have to visit the same location a dozen times before you get the perfect light, or shoot at the same sporting venue many times to discover the best vantage points.
Top Tip: If at first you don’t succeed… go back and do it again

3 Specialise on a subject
Many photographers flit from one type of photography to another. One day they’re trying to master landscape photography the next they’re trying their hand at shooting weddings. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with mixing it up but try to specialise in one area more then any other.

The fact is top photographers tend to become well known for not for shooting one area of photography but for being the best at a small niche of one area in photography. For example great fashion photographers don’t make great wedding photographers. Motor sports photographers may be rubbish at shooting football.
Top Tip: You only need to be the best in one area of photography

4 Learn from failure
All photographers have bad days and most of us have bad weeks too. Sometimes nothing goes your way. Maybe the weather doesn’t play ball or you accidentally shoot with the wrong exposure or perhaps you just run out of ideas.

When that happens, it’s natural to feel down hearted, frustrated and ready to throw in the towel. Top photographers will quickly get over the initial disappointment and the best photographers will embrace failure as all part of learning.

Going further, top photographer will expect to mess up and they’ll plan accordingly. Things like taking more then one photo, moving the view point, bracketing exposure and experimenting with lens choice are all part of the secret of success.
Top Tip: You’re the only one who will ever see your bad shots.

5 Think about post processing whilst taking photos
Let’s be honest, every photographer aims to get the photo right in the camera most of the time. We all know that Photoshop can do amazing things to help to fix photos and enhance photos but top photographers are thinking about post processing whilst holding the camera.

Let’s be clear, they’ll not think “I’ll fix that in Photoshop” they’re thinking this might work best with a square crop or this scene would look better in black and white.

Being aware of what can be done in post processing and you’re skills at doing it, should be in your mind whenever the camera is in your hand.
Top Tip: Clicking the shutter is the start of the photo and rarely the end.

Instant Snow Action

Here in the UK snow is something we get once or twice a year, which makes it a fairly rare event round these parts. So whenever snow arrives, everyone rushes out to build snowmen, go sledging and record the event with their cameras.

Now I realise some of you get snow all the time and some of you never see snow from one year to the next, but don’t let that stop you enjoying this weeks Friday Freebie.

You can download the action here: instant-snow

This is a one click action, so once you’ve unzipped it and installed it, you only need to hit the play button. The first thing the action will do is to make a copy of your photo and it’s the copy that gets the effect, leaving your original photo untouched.

The action will make three layers of snow and I’ve left all three layers active at the end of the action. That means you’re free to alter, adjust and tweak the snow in numerous different ways. Another nice feature of the action is the random nature of the snow. Put simply if you don’t like the snow the first time you run the action, just close the image down and run the action again and the snow will be different.

Usual rules apply:
The action is copyright Gavin Hoey 2013. You may use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only and please do not redistribute without permission. There is no support offered with this action and you use it at your own risk. Thank you and enjoy.

Photo Realistic HDR

Over the past couple of years the letters HDR have become synonymous with heavily processed images, garish colours and unreal contrast. Don’t get me wrong, when done with skill that kind of processing can look amazing… on the right subject. The trouble is, of course, that it’s very easy to get carried away with the effect and go too far.

As a result many photographers now hear HDR and instantly dismiss it as gimmicky when in fact HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a technique that’s as old as photography itself. Dodging and burning in the darkroom, pulling out the highlight and shadow detail in RAW processing are all forms of HDR.

However, there are plenty of times when a single image doesn’t have all the detail you want in the highlights and shadows, no matter how much processing you do to it. That’s when multi photo HDR’s come in to their own.

In the video below I’ll show you a couple of ways to shoot multi image HDR photos and then I’ll skip over to Photoshop CS6 to make a photo real HDR image. Photo real means my goal is to make the photo look like a photo… not a painting.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOLh76QhZkY[/youtube]
If you can’t see the video click here

It’s worth pointing out that you must have Photoshop CS6 and have updated its RAW processor to at least 7.1. An alternative work flow would be Photoshop CS4 or CS5 and Lightroom 4

The bigger the difference between the lightest and darkest part of you scene the more photos you’ll need to take. Often three photos are enough to make a good HDR, such as in the image below but it’s always better to have more photos even if you don’t end up using them.

Gear used in this video:

Canon 5D Mark 3 http://www.adorama.com/ICA5DM3.html?KBID=67338

Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 Mk2 http://www.adoramacom/CA2470.html?KBID=67338

Adobe Photoshop CS6 http://www.adorama.com/ABPSCS6M.html?KBID=67338

Manfrotto 055 Pro Tripod http://www.adorama.com/BG055XPROB.html?KBID=67338

Canon RS-80N3 cable release http://www.adorama.com/CARS80N3.html?KBID=67338

Many thanks to the Gatwick Avaiation Museum for allowing me to film in their Shackleton aircraft.
http://www.gatwick-aviation-museum.co.uk

Free brushed border

Last week I made a tutorial for my friends over at Tip Squirrel on how to use the mixer brush to create three borders with a painterly feel. You can read the article and watch the video by clicking here to visit tipsquirrel.com

Great as the effect is, there is a problem. You’ll need access to the Mixer Brush to make the borders but the Mixer Brush is only available in Photoshop CS5 and CS6. So what happens if you have an older version of Photoshop or for that matter, any version of Photoshop Elements?

The short answer is you’re out of luck but that doesn’t sound 100% fair to me, so I thought I’d share one of my ready made brushed borders in a way that anyone can use.

You can download the border from here:
https://www.gavtrain.com/free/FF-Mixer-Border.zip

It’s a zipped file of around 300kb in size so shouldn’t take too long to download. You can then unzip it and open the jpg border image in either Photoshop or Elements.
Please read the terms of use at the bottom of this post.

How to use the border
To add your own photo, first open the photo you want to add. Then select all (CTRL+A) and copy (CTRL+C) . Now jump over to the border image, select a grey rectangle with the Magic Wand tool and choose Edit – Paste Into (Edit – Paste Special – Paste Into in Photoshop CS5 & CS6)

You can then resize the photo before pressing Enter to committing to the changes.

The space for each photo is just under 4000 pixels on the longest edge, so if you’re using smaller images you might want to resize the border or photo before starting.

^{Usual rules apply.

The action is copyright Gavin Hoey 2012. You may use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only and please do not redistribute without permission.

Thank you and enjoy.}

Amazing Christmas bokeh

Happy Christmas!

What did you find wrapped up under the Christmas tree? If you got a shiny new tripod or a lovely new lens then here’s a great photo technique that’s absolutely perfect for today.

Bokeh or background blur as it’s also known, is a simple technique to achieve and the results can me amazing. In the video I go in to plenty of detail so you’ll get a thorough understanding of how it all works and what camera setting work best.

As you can see from the final photo, you can get very creative with bokeh. To give you some inspiration, check out the bokeh group on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/groups/88081697@N00/

I’d love to know if you use this technique and get a great photo, especially if you’ve never tried it before. Upload your photo to Flickr or Facebook (or wherever you post your photos) and leave your link in the comments below.

If you can’t see the video click here

Gear used in the video (links back to Adorama, who sponsor all my videos)
Canon 5D Mark 2
Canon 24-105mm L f/4 USM
Vanguard Alta Pro 263AT Tripod
Vanguard GH-100 Grip Head
Kingston 32GB CompactFlash Ultimate 600x
Adobe Photoshop CS6