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There are a number of things that can improve your images while in the field and during post-processing of your files. Not every situation will allow you to use all of these suggestions and in many situations you will find it hard to use only a few of them. Most of this applies towards photographing still images where you have time to setup the shot. Using a Tripod Unless you are shooting at high shutter speeds a tripod will help you get sharper images. The rule of thumb (at least in the old days) for shooting without a tripod is if the inverse of the lens focal length (on 35mm) is the minimum shutter speed to get a sharp image. In simple terms, this means with a 50mm lens you need a shutter speed of 1/50 of a second or faster to get a sharp image. However, current technology has made this rule of thumb a little more complicated. Image stabilization built into camera lenses (and some camera bodies) has made it possible to shoot as much as three stops slower while maintaining sharp... (more...)

Photoshop offers a few methods of sharpening images under the filter drop-down menu but there is a better way to sharpen your images.  Photoshops high pass filter can be used to sharpen your photographs and bring out the fine details in the image. To start, open an image in Photoshop that you would like to sharpen.  Duplicate the background layer and with the duplicated layer selected go to Filters->Other->High Pass.  What you set the radius to will depend on the image.  The smaller the radius the finer the sharpening will be.  It will be almost impossible to judge this from the preview since it will appear as an all gray image.  This part takes some  practice and experimenting but in general for a full size image from your 10-15mp digital camera you’ll want to set the radius to around 1 or 2.  For a web sized images I usually set the radius to about 0.5. The next step is to set this layer to overlay.  Zoom into 100 percent and turn on and off the layer and you should... (more...)

Online stock photography websites have grown in the last few years as one of the easiest ways that photographers can get into to make a few extra bucks.  Because of this, the competition is getting pretty fierce.  The large stock photography sites now have several million photos online and they can be downloaded for just very cheap sometimes less than a dollar for a photograph. Since so many photographers are doing stock photography to try to put a few extra bucks in their pockets it makes it extremely difficult for those that are doing it for a living.  The key to being successful in stock photography is to provide great images of things that the customer is looking for.  Obviously this is easier said than done, but it’s not impossible. How do you find out what customers are looking for?  Look at what is getting downloaded a lot.  Try to find images that have many downloads but do not have many alternatives.  Look at the popular photos and think about why they are popular. ... (more...)

For anyone who has seen her photography knows that Knoxville’s own Lori Hensley has taken what once was a basic photograph and has made it into a visual dream that tells stories of not only the subject and its contents, but what’s behind the eye of her extraordinary creativity. Lori’s photography enables unimaginable journeys, breaks the barrier between real and surreal, and is beauty at its finest through the lens of her very own imagination. She believes in photography as the true gift of art and has given each and every one of us a reason to pick up a camera and explore the possibilities. With her awe-inspiring images and an online brand name and presence that has set her apart, HometownSevier.com decided to sit down with Lori Hensley and delve deep into the mind’s eye of her distinctive creativity, her life’s passions, and what’s next for this beautifully creative photographer. Tell us about yourself? Where does one start? ... (more...)

I’ve been learning more about real estate photography recently which is a whole other animal from landscape photography.  One common practice is exposure blending (HDR) which I used in this shot of my kitchen. To get this shot I metered the brightest point and the darkest point and then shot in 2 stop intervals to get a series of images that I could use for exposure blending.  The software I used to blend the images was Photomatix which I think does a better job than Photoshop for this purpose. To make it easier to figure out the settings for the 2-stop intervals I created a spreadsheet where each column shows shutter times that are 2 stops apart.  This chart assumes that the camera is set to 1/3 stop intervals.  This makes it easy to set your camera to manual, set the desired aperture, then starting at the fastest shutter speed, take exposures 2 stops apart.  You can also count six “clicks” each time you take a shot, but this helps me find where to start and where to stop. To... (more...)

Because of the recent time change for daylight savings time getting up in the morning to catch the sunrise just got an hour earlier.  Arriving at Clingman’s Dome before 7am and an hour and a half drive meant getting up pretty early in the morning.  I didn’t have a lot of time this weekend so I only spent about 40 minutes at Clingman’s Dome. The sky was mostly clear and the common layer of fog that covers the valley was mild but despite the conditions it’s practically impossible to walk away from Clingman’s Dome without a usable shot. For this shot I feel like I got lucky because I was on the other side of the parking lot and about to leave since the sunrise was mostly over but because of where I parked I had to walk back around and saw this beautiful scene. I think that it is ironic that often I find the best shots are the first, the last and the ones that hit me by surprise.  The ones that I take my time and carefully plan out, while technically superior, can sometimes turn... (more...)

Clingmans Dome is one of the most popular spots in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and for good reason: the view is spectacular.  A good time to be there is before sunrise.  The fog rolls over the mountains as the sun comes up creating an amazing scene.  My first visit to Clingmans Dome was a good one as I walked away with over 150 shots to sift through later with a good number of keepers. I have heard that the shots from the parking lot are just as good as what you can get from going up to the dome and since I arrived only 15 minutes before sunrise I didn’t have any time to spare.  When I arrived the were at least 50 other photographers all lined up setting up their cameras and tripods so I joined the ranks among them.  I usually work alone so it is sometimes nice to be among my peers and see how other work. For sunrise shots there are a few items that can help out.  First and foremost is a tripod since it will still be fairly dark and you will need to use longer shutter... (more...)

A hike on Alum Cave Trail by Brad Proctor This past week I had the chance to visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park once again during its most popular time of year.  The leaves are beginning to change especially in the higher altitudes which make for fantastic photo opportunities.  For this trip I decided to take a hike on Alum Cave Trail.  As one of the most popular trails in the park, the trail was quite busy.  The hike can be fairly strenuous in parts which makes it surprising that it is so popular. The best time to go is early in the morning as this trail becomes crowded quickly.  Especially during this time of year in the fall you will have a difficult time finding a place to park if don’t get there early enough.  I got to the start of the trail at about 7:30am and while I was the only one around, there were several cars parked from overnight hikers. Arch Rock The Trail The trail is 5 miles long and intersects with Rainbow Falls trail.  From here, one can continue... (more...)

Photography Trek: Chimney Tops Trail The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has hundreds of miles of hiking trails with never ending photographic opportunities.  For this trip I visited Chimney Tops Trail which is only a few miles from Gatlinburg.  Chimney Tops Trail is a moderately strenuous hike and is about 2 miles to the summit of Chimney Tops.  While I didn’t reach the summit on this trip, there was plenty to see and photograph. To get there, enter the park through the Gatlinburg entrance (or the Gatlinburg bypass).  From the visitors center, it is approximately 7 miles to the parking lot at the start of the trail. The Trail The trail goes along next to a small stream and passes over it four times during the first mile.  The first three bridges are fairly close to the beginning of the trail and also offer the best photographic... (more...)