I was challenged by interesting question from Google+ discussion: what post processing is preferred if you are shooting a multiple exposure HDR without a tripod. I’ve tested 3 methods: 1. Align and Merge to HDR image in Photoshop 2. Stack and align bracketed exposures in Photoshop and then assemble HDR image in Photomatix Pro 4 3. Align and process HDR in Photomatix Pro 4
All 3 ways have advantages and disadvantages. I’ll show you 100% fragments, and you will make your own decision on what is the best and where.
My preference will depend from time I have for processing each image. For perfect result, I think, we need to combine all 3 methods and using masking in Photoshop to use only the best parts from each image. The fastest way for creating handheld HDR is Photomatix Pro 4, but we will get little bit blurred image with lost some details. I found that the optimum method for me is to use Photoshop for aligning only and process HDR file in Photomatix Pro 4. Alternatively, Photomatix plugin for Photoshop can be used, I believe it gives the same result. Now, the test results:This is the test image without any post HDR ajustments and corrections with saved as much details as possible:  Test HDR image Continue reading HDR without a tripod: Photoshop vs Photoshop+Photomatix Pro 4 vs Photomatix Pro 4
I noticed a big interest to the focus stacking topic. I will explain a post production part in Photoshop CS5 more detailed. You can read and see the video of a shooting part on Alex’s blog Focus stacking technique using Adobe Photoshop CS5 So, we have a sequence of images: 5, 8, 12. I mean, as many as we need. I have 11 images. Step 1. Select the sequence of the photos in Bridge CS5:  Images selection for focus stacking Step 2. Continue reading How to do Focus Stacking in Photoshop CS5. Jewelry photography post production.
If you are on the way to create new or update your old portfolio this post is for you. I can show you 3 different ways to do it: easy, intermediate and advanced. 1. Easy Only for $50 per year you can get Gorgeous Portfolio with your own domain and without any upload limits. iPhone & iPad ready. And it is really easy. Just upload your best photos and write bio and contact info. There are several themes for choosing. They are simple, clean and elegant. Go to 500px.com and you will have a great portfolio in minutes. Also there you can start your blog if you want. This is the photo portfolio example: Continue reading How to get a professional up-to-date portfolio for a reasonable money.
Some time ago I was impressed with stunning water splash photos some photographers did. I saw flowers, birds, bulls, horses. I was curious how they actually did it? Now I know the answer:-)
First, you need a huge set of water splash images and second, many hours of assiduous work. And here is my water splash butterfly:  Water splash butterfly As you can see at my Layer palette, I did many trials, errors, experimentation. See how many layers turned off:-) But for me it’s only one way to learn – error and trial, and trial again. This what we call experience:-) Continue reading How to do a water splash butterfly. Post production.
Recently Alex had a new post on Pixiq.com: Using light painting (lighting brush) technique in product photography. It’s not a new technique, we play with it almost 10 years ago, but I think this method is pretty spectacular and expressive. At the same time working with a light brush is so very creative process that it’s hard to stop:-) You fill yourself like a painter:-) Look at the video below and you will see how the final image was created, stroke by stroke. To create the image, in addition to the knowledge of light and the camera, you should know how to work with masks in Photoshop. I will not teach you the basics of how to work with masks, Google it and you’ll find many great tutorials. Knowing masking in Photoshop is a must for up-to-day photographer or digital artist, IMO. Continue reading Light brush painting. Post-production.
Update: This script is for edit psd layers in Adobe Camera RAW ONLY, because you can open any TIFF and JPEG through Bridge. Right click on the image and choose Open in Camera RAW… I did not know it. Thank you guys from LinkedIn  ——- Some days, working on customer’s images (not RAW), I had a dream:-) I wish it would be possible to edit TIFF or even JPEG files in Adobe Camera RAW converter. ACR has a very convenient interface and controls, and I’ve got used to work with it. And what a surprise: Calvin Hollywood asked Russell Brown to write this amazing script. You can download the script here. With this script, you are able to open any layer of your psd file in a camera raw converter. It does not matter what image it is: TIFF or a crappy JPEG because you can still use RAW converter interface to adjust it as if it were a RAW (obviously, it won’t make file RAW-like). You can see the video how it works. For a quick test, I tried to edit a JPEG file (made by point-and-shoot camera) of my daughter working in class. The result was truly impressive! Love it! I do not have much TIFFs or JPEGs (we shoot only RAW), but if you have to edit such files this script is able to save a lot of time as ACR converter is very intuitive and convenient. Mouse Over to see Before and After
 Edit layers in ACR script. Photoshop. Thank you for looking. Any feedback and suggestions are very welcome!
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There are many tutorials how to sharp images for web, and I tested majority of them. Finally I found the one which works best for me. I did not invent the algorithm, big thanks to smart Russian guy, photographer Pavel Kosenko for his research, summarizing the knowledge and finally action he created. I use this action couple years already and very happy with result. I am not a theorist I only filter and use the best on the marker:-). So if you are interested in theory, please read books and another blogs for the explanation on how and why every step works this way. Here I give you only a practical part. This action works best for web size images from 300 х 200 px to 1200 x 800 px. Below one of the examples of how this actions works. Mouse Over to see Before and After  Advanced sharpening in Photoshop for web. Now, the sharpening process, step by step (or you can download Action at the bottom of this article): Continue reading Advanced sharpening for web in one click and full control.
I was asked couple times what the strange mode I used in my video. So, here is the answer: I used curves presets to see differences in gradients and colors. When I apply various curves even slight difference in color or brightness become extremely visible. Here are two examples: 1. On this image I want to see clearly every tiny dust piece on the black background. It highlights it very well by using such curve: 
Continue reading Using curves in photoshop for retouching. Very useful trick.
I have been asked many times about the post production I do for a landscape photography. This post should answer some of the questions, as I’ll show you how and what I did on the images from our trip to Key West, FL.
A funny thing is that there is no Photoshop (by it’s common meaning): I’ve used RAW converter to do all (except sharping) the job.
This is why Alex always shoot RAW, and I like to work with RAW files. It is much faster and cleaner to use a RAW converter and a batch processing to get a perfectly adjusted large stack of photos. Below, I show you several screen shots so that you can see what adjustments I did in a RAW Converter for the particular image. You can’t simply apply these settings for your picture, as they may not work in your case, but you can see the idea and experiment with your own image by moving sliders and see the difference. 
Continue reading Landscape photography. My post production.
A recorded LIVE broadcast from the product photography masterclass you can find at Alex's blog. Here is a post production part with some explanations what I did. Hope you will find it interesting:-) Mouse Over to see Before and After retouching  Product photography retouching, video. Thank you for looking. Any feedback and suggestions are very welcome! If you like our work, you can subscribe to our RSS feed and "Like" our AKELstudio page on Facebook:-) All the best, Genia
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Before and After Images.
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