There are literally dozens of ways to saturate your colors in Photoshop. For this post I am going to focus on one way to pop colors using “Channel Mixer” adjustment layers.

To start with, locate an image that could benefit from more vibrant color, overall or in selected spots. Of course, you likely will want to correct exposure and white balance prior to working on color. At this point, we will pull up a “Channel Mixer” adjustment. In CS4, you can use the adjustment panel – in CS3 and below, use the layers palette and go to “Channel Mixers.”

Once you pull up the adjustment layer, you will adjust settings in the dialog box. You will adjust all three output channels: Red, Green, and Blue. Use the same relationship for each. You want all numbers to total 100%. The higher your number for the output channel you are working on, the more saturated the colors will be.

For example, if you start with red, and put red at 150%, then you would split the difference to = 100%. So green would be at -25% and blue at -25%. Then you would drop down to green for the output. For this channel, you would do 150% for green, -25% for red, and -25% for blue. Lastly, you would drop down to the blue channel and do the same. Blue would be 150%, green -25% and red -25%.

Remember, all three outputs need to be treated the same. The output gets the high number in all three channels. The other two equally subtract the same amount so that the total is 100%. Using 150% is rather high, but if you will be painting your color on, as I am here, or if you want a lot of pop, this number may work well. You will want to experiment on your image to find the best settings. I recommend 116-120% for the main output channel light pop, 122-140% for medium pop, and 142-160% for intense pop.

When you saturate color, make sure you are not losing details and that your colors are printable. The printer I use handles intense color really well, so I mainly check to make sure I am not losing details or getting any color noise. Also, if photographing people, unless you are using low numbers, your skin tones WILL BE impacted. That is where “painting” comes in.

With masking, you have 2 choices. Either you can show the effect everywhere, white mask. And hide it on parts where you do not want it, such as skin. Or you can hide the effect everywhere, black mask. And you can paint it on specific areas, just where desired.

For this tutorial, I am going explain, hiding the effect and painting it on where desired. Either way would work.

So after getting your channel numbers set, you will invert your mask. The shortcut keys are PC: “CTRL” + “I” or Mac: “CMD” + “I” – which turns your white mask from black. You will not longer see the popped colors.

If you have never used layer masks before, this video tutorial and tips on layer masking will help you.

With the mask black, then select white as your foreground color, and pick a soft round brush. You will vary the hardness of the brush as needed. I usually set my opacity at 30%-35% and paint over the desired items where I want the color more vibrant. You can do this at 100%, but with a low opacity brush, you will have more control as you can build the effect by painting multiple times.

For the before and after image below, I painted on the image with the mask selected, using a 30% brush at 19% hardness. I painted over the entire image once. Then I painted on the truck until 100% of the effect was reached.

The only change in these two images was the channel mixer layer. I hope you learned a lot from this tutorial about using channels to enhance your color and about using layer masks.

About the Author: This post was written by Jodi of MCP Actions, the popular creator of Photoshop actions, training and of the MCP Blog. MCP Actions provides great products and resources for both hobbyist and professional photographers who want to improve their post processing and take their photography to the next level. If you are serious about the quality of your images or your photography business, visit MCP Actions.

You can also find Jodi on Facebook, Twitter, and through her RSS Feed.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

How to Pop Color Selectively Using Channel Mixers and Layer Masks in Photoshop

The Challenge

A while back DPS had an article about creating and using shaped bokeh as a creative drive. Taking that concept forward I built a product called the Bokeh Masters Kit which enables creating “bokeh images” in an easy and convenient way.

When I launched the Bokeh Masters Kit I needed to create a strong image which will clearly show how distant blurred dots become shaped bokeh objects.

Process and Setup

To make the bokeh effect work you need to have some highlights that you can take out of focus. Each such out-of-focus dot takes the shape of the hole on the bokeh adapter. A common way to create those highlights is to use LEDs. This is a great option as LEDs are small, cheap and can be bought in a “string form” for holiday’s home decoration. Indeed I started with LEDs. My first images were of my little daughter using a Christmas LED string as backdrop.

I loved the effect, but wanted something more. I wanted hundreds of little distant blurred dots to become hundreds of little shapes.

While working on another project I noticed that wrinkled tinfoil reflects many, many spots of light. This is just what I needed. It took little time to create a screen made from foam board and tinfoil.

I used a very simple 2 strobe setup to take the image: one flash with a CPU cooler gridspot was placed above R2D2 to light it from above. Another gridded strobe was set on the floor for fill and spilling some light on the background.

This worked out pretty nice and I got literally hundreds of little envelopes.

I did a second image with the same concept only using hundreds of tiny streetlight people.

The Giveaway!!!!

To kick things off, DPS will be giving away six Masters Edition kits.

To enter all you need to do is leave a comment on this post. Make sure that in the email field of your comment you leave a valid email address so we can contact you. One entry per person only please!

We’ll randomly select 6 winners from the comments 2 weeks from today and notify winners via email. If you can’t hold your breath that long, just order the kit here.

Lastly – here’s a quick picture of how the kid attaches to your lens.

Check out more of the type of images that you can achieve with this little bokeh kit here.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Win a Bokeh Kit: Competition

To get the softly diffused light in this photo, I waited for an overcast sky. (Photo by Steve Berardi)

With spring on the horizon in some parts of the world, you may be thinking about photographing some beautiful wildflowers soon. So, here are 8 tips to get you started:

1. Use a tripod

Using a tripod will help you get sharper photos by ensuring your camera doesn’t move. But, the tripod helps in another way too: it forces you to be more careful about your composition.

When you handhold your camera, there’s a tendency to just snap away, but when you add the tripod, you’ll spend more time thinking about your composition and ensuring your camera is in a very precise position.

2. Wait for an overcast or cloudy day

Direct sunlight will cast harsh shadows and create bright highlights on wildflowers, causing a disaster for exposure.

So, the best time to photograph wildflowers is on an overcast day, because the clouds act as the perfect light diffuser: creating the most perfectly balanced light you can get.

If you can’t wait for an overcast day, cloudy days are good too: just wait for a cloud to cover the sun before taking your shot.

3. Position your camera’s sensor so it’s parallel to the most important plane of the flower

With every photo, you only get one geometrical plane of complete sharpness. So, to maximize sharpness in your wildflower photos, make sure your sensor is parallel to the flower’s most important plane, and carefully focus your lens on this plane.

To maximize sharpness in this photo, I carefully positioned my camera so the sensor was parallel to the flower's petals. (Photo by Steve Berardi)

4. Use a shutter speed of 1/200 or faster

The most annoying problem you’ll face when photographing wildflowers is battling the wind. So, to help freeze the action of wildflowers (which never seem to sit completely still!), use a fast shutter of at least 1/200 sec. You may need to increase your ISO to 200 or 400 to get this fast of a shutter.

5. Find a flower with a good background

When photographing wildflowers, it’s easy to focus all your attention on the beautiful flowers and forget about the background. But, a good background will help your image by drawing more attention to your subject. So, take the time to find a flower with a good background: one that’s far away (to help get it out of focus), contrasts well with the flower, and has no distracting elements.

6. Find a flower that’s in good shape

Closely inspect each flower before photographing it, to ensure it’s not missing petals or has poor color. Some individual flowers of the same species will be more saturated in color than other individuals, so take some time to find that “perfect flower.”

7. Use a telephoto lens with a short minimum focus distance

A long lens will help you isolate a sharp flower against an out-of-focus background. But, make sure you use one with a short minimum focus distance (5 ft or less), to ensure you can fill the frame with the flower. You can use an extension tube to make your lens focus even closer for the smaller flowers.

8 – Use the RGB histogram to check exposure, NOT the LCD preview

When you’re outside, images on your camera’s LCD will appear much brighter than they actually are. So, to ensure you have a good exposure, rely on the RGB histogram. The histogram is a whole other topic by itself, but the basic idea is to use the histogram to ensure you’re not overexposing any of the color channels in your photo.

Remember to leave no trace…

When photographing wildflowers (or anything in nature), it’s also important to leave no trace. That means, be careful not to step on the flowers, or disturb the ground around them (many flowers depend on the soil structure around them). And, it may be tempting to attach some kind of clip to flowers to keep from swaying in the wind, but please avoid this because it could potentially kill the flower.

So, enjoy the wildflowers, take lots of photos, but leave them just as you found them, so they can be enjoyed by the next person (or butterfly, heh) too :)

About the Author: Steve Berardi is a naturalist, photographer, and computer scientist. You can usually find him hiking in the beautiful mountains and deserts of Southern California. Read more of his articles on nature photography at the PhotoNaturalist and check out his new eBook, Digital Wildflower Photography.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

8 Tips for Photographing Wildflowers

Recent talks with a local shop have prompted one of my least favorite tasks… writing an artist’s statement. It is an incredibly difficult task to describe your own work without sounding arrogant or self-absorbed. Worse yet, if your images span a variety of subjects and styles (as mine often to), trying to sum up the collection in a paragraph or two may seem impossible.

Here are some tips I go by when writing an artist statement for a shop or gallery that will be displaying my work:

1. Start with the basics

Jot down some basic information about the photos included in this collection. Are they color? Do they have a common theme? Were they all taken in a similar location? Having a short list of details will help later when you are trying to tie everything together.

2. Try not to get too technical

Nobody reading the statement will care if you shot with a Canon 5D or if Photoshop is your post-processing software of choice. If there are some truly unique elements involved in the work (printed on a special material or you shot through a hand-crafted lens, for example), feel free to include that information. Otherwise, leave out the details about your gear.

3. What would you like someone else to say of this work?

This is possibly the best way to get to the heart of why you took these photos. If you would love for someone to say “these photos bring sunshine to my home”, then you already have a pretty good starting point for your statement. Lead off with something like “I have done my job as an artist if these photos bring happiness and warmth to your home”.

4. Share your background and history

All too often, artist’s statements are all about the art and don’t go into any detail about the artist. How long have you been doing this kind of art? Why did you start? Why do you enjoy it?

5. Try not to pat yourself on the back too much

It is fine to say you are proud of this body of work, but try not to go overboard with the self praise. I have seen statements that say things like “an expert of her craft, this photographer captures beauty in a way that nobody else has”. I understand the value of confidence and selling yourself, but these kinds of descriptions will be a turnoff to a lot of people.

6. Does it have to be a traditional artist’s statement?

A friend once suggested that I do a haiku for my statement, which I thought was a genius idea. Different venues will have their own requirements, but take the opportunity to do something out of the norm if you can.

And if you would like an example of an Artist’s Statement, this is the one I went with for that local shop:

If these photos have a mission, it is this: capture rarely viewed scenes and environments and present them in an interesting way.

It may be a lonesome tree on an isolated hill or the dark interior of an abandoned building. Whatever the locale, on the best of days these images will stir up unexpected feelings and thoughts in the viewer.

Studio Tempura is based out of Baltimore, MD and has been creating photographs for over a decade.

Chris Folsom is a photographer based in Baltimore, MD. You can view more of his photos at Flickr or follow his photographic endeavors on Twitter.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

6 Tips for Writing an Artist’s Statement

When you do maternity sessions, are you more likely to do them in a controlled atmosphere or do you take your momma on-location?

Any type of photography presents it’s own challenges, pros and cons. Maternity photography has it’s own set of challenges and knowing these ahead of time can help you prepare for your session.

{Studio}

Pros

• Controlled environment. No sun to fight with.
• More private – especially important for a mom who feels uncomfortable ‘gettin’ it out’ in public
• Once you get things set up properly, you can focus purely on the mum-n-bump and not worry about location challenges

Cons

• Studio shots can be samey if you don’t have some pretty brilliant ideas to shake things up. Yes, every bump is the most special one in the world, and all parents should get the typical hands-on-bump shot, but for your own sake, studio photos can all start looking identical the more you do.
• Studio shots are great when it’s just the bump, but when you’re trying to catch emotion (or even just relaxed facial expressions), studio can be really difficult. Unless they’re used to being photographed and are comfortable in front of the camera, the parents don’t generally know how to ‘just act natural’.

The short of it

• In my opinion, studio is best for the isolated bump shots. Towards the end of the session, when they’re comfortable (or they think you’re only photographing the bump) you might catch some raw emotion or tenderness, but I usually use these sessions purely for the beautifully lit shots of the belly.

{Location}

Pros

• Location shoots offer a more bespoke service which can incorporate their individual style. Locations can be urban or country, formal or casual.
• For couples who just can’t relax in front of the camera, location photography can help them just pretend you’re not even there and this also lends itself to more romantic, emotional events.
• You don’t have to have many ideas for location photography. In the studio, all eyes are on you to come up with the next pose or concept but on-location, you can just capture the precious moments as they unfold.
• Pregnancy is an organic, natural event. Sometimes photographing this in the studio feels…well…just uncomfortable. Even when just viewing maternity photos, I feel more at ease looking at the natural location photos because it just seems to fit the occasion better.

Cons

• You attention is divided. You can’t focus just on your mom, but have to keep considering your camera settings, positioning of the sun, weather, etc., etc.
• “Everyone loves someone who’s pregnant”. And that means that most people don’t think it’s inappropriate to just stand there and watch your session. This can be really uncomfortable for your mom and dad and unless you have a strong enough personality and a few ready-made lines (exe: “Do you have tickets to this show?”) you’ll have to pick a really obviously private location. Note: I think I need some better ‘move on’ lines. Any suggestions are appreciated! :)

The bottom line

• The bottom line on location maternity shoots? I focus most of my attention on these types of sessions. They’re harder work and they greatly test your ability to be creative and adaptable but when they work, they are so very rewarding.

Personally, I give my couples both sessions. I go to their house with a couple lights, do their studio shots and then take them out on location. They have more to choose from and that makes them happy!

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Maternity Photography – Studio or Location?

Giottos Tripods on Amazon

Giotto's tripod folded

Giotto Vitruvian tripod – PRESS RELEASE

Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, the new Giotto’s Vitruvian VGR  tripods are designed to offer photographers not only a truly lightweight and compact tripod, but a fully functioning monopod and ball head too.

The Vitruvian tripods have been designed with “reverse technology” legs so that when collapsed they fold through 180 degrees to “surround” the tripod centre column and head  – folding down into a unit that measures only 40cm long.

There are two VGR models available, both with a maximum operating height of 157cm and a weight capacity of up to 4kg. The VGR9255 is manufactured using aluminium tubing and weighs 1.5kg while the VGR 8255 uses 6 layer carbon tubing and weighs just 1.28kg.

The tripod castings are made from a forged aluminium alloy for strength and the quick action twist leg locks require only 1/8 turn to lock and unlock – making it quick and easy to set the tripod up. VGR tripods are fitted with a compact ball + socket head that offers smooth and precise movement, incorporates independent pan control and has a quick release system.

Giotto's VGR tripod and head

You can also unscrew the tripod leg, remove the centre column and head then join them together to produce a full size monopod with a maximum operating height of 162cm. The Vitruvian comes with its very own carry bag and has a 5 year warranty, snazzy huh!

I will try to get hold of a sample and give it a good solid going over…

Sime

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Giotto’s Vitruvian tripod, true genius

Invitation to Leica

A Lamborghini speeds by as I cross Berkley Square, on my way to the Leica showroom in the heart of Mayfair, central London. I have received an invite to view the new Leica S2 medium format digital camera. I don’t make a habit of attending to these events, but I thought, this being Leica, and, their first medium format pro-camera with autofocus, it might be worth a squint.

Showroom

The showroom is down a small mews, and the interior is reminiscent of an exclusive jewellery store. The lighting is subdued, and glass cases display gift boxes containing brightly coloured, beautifully crafted Leica cameras and lenses. I am ushered upstairs to the studio on the first floor where I have my first glimpse of the camera.

Leica S2 Body

The body is beautifully minimal and owes more to the looks of a 35mm camera than a medium format, reminding me of my first Pentax 67. It feels solid to hold and is pleasingly devoid of endless fiddly buttons and dials. The controls are simplicity itself, thankfully, and buck the trend of most over-complex digital cameras of the moment. There is a traditional shutter dial on the top, next to an easy to read OLED. This highlights each function in a different colour. On the back is the LED screen surrounded by four long buttons similar to the original phase one backs that I often use on shoots. These control the cameras menu functions and feel logical to use. This probably has something to do with my familiarity with the Phase One system.

Shooting with the Leica S2

The camera is tethered (by a USB cable) to a computer. It has a four pin connection which seems solid and reliable, unlike the usbs of most medium format backs which always seem to work loose without a little gaffer tape. It does also have two card slots, this means you can shoot raw to one and jpgs to another. My photo model, the camera demonstrator, waits for me to take the shot. I focus, release the shutter, the file uploads, and the result appears on the 32” apple monitor.

The download time is a little slow, but then this is a medium format, in tethered shooting mode. The auto focus is as good as it gets with a medium format but is noisier than I would expect from such a quality camera. The results though are spectacular. The resolution is 37.9 megapixels and the 3:2 sensor (the same format as a 35mm) is 56% larger than any full frame 35mm camera. I didn’t have time to do any in depth analysis of any of the specifications and lenses but from what I could see this camera shoots quality. This is no doubt down the Kodak sensor and the Leica lens.

Lenses

At the moment Leica only make four lenses for the S2. These are a 35mm, 70mm, and 120mm, all 2.5 and a 180mm 3.5. They make two versions, one that works with the camera’s focal shutter and another pricier version with a leaf shutter. This is also reminiscent of the old Pentax. The leaf shutter version means you can sync with flash up to 1/500. This is something I use all the time with my photography so I’d have to stump up the extra cash! They do have plans to increase the range but when this will happen I am not sure.
The lenses as you would expect feel solid. They match the simplicity of the camera body and as a package the whole product oozes class.

Would I buy the Leica S2?

I would want to spend some time with this camera before I decided to buy it. I only took a couple of shots in the studio and haven’t yet done any extensive or detailed analysis of it. Having said that I love the styling and simplicity of this kit. I also love the fact that this is a medium format in a 35mm body. I guess the only disadvantage of this is that if you need a back up camera you need a second body and not just another back like the phase one system. Having said that it does feel solid, reliable and has great image quality.

Did I mention the price?

Oh yes! The price! The camera body will set you back over $20,000 and each lens is around $5,000. Well what did you expect? This is a Leica and it is medium format. The quality is definitely far superior to any 35mm camera but whether or not it is worth this price tag probably depends on the size of your pockets and for whom you are shooting, but having said that I could definitely see myself working with this piece of kit.

Check out more of Justin de Deney’s work at Camera Advice.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Leica S2 – First Impression Review

The first observation one can make about his method is the painstaking attention to lighting during the shoot. In the final product, the lighting and contrast make the images what they are. This can’t be done without interesting lighting.

Of course after being engrossed in his work for far too long, I said, “I MUST know how he does that?!” I didn’t find anything from him personally, but there are plenty of photographers out there tearing the method apart and sharing their findings. The first tutorial I ran across was for PS using high pass filters. I got stuck at the end with the masking layer since I’m still only using PSE.

But have no fear PSE users! I found a really great method for creating the Dave Hill look in Lightroom from, who else, Scott Kelby. The following suggestions are his. My additions are in italics.

{SETTINGS}

• Recovery = 100
• Fill Light = 100 this doesn’t always work at 100 it depends on the image – you’ll have to experiment
• Blacks = Drag this slider to the right until photo looks balanced again, because setting the Fill Light at 100 will wash the photo out big time. In our example, I dragged it to 24. I haven’t been able to get the blacks all the way up to 24. In the example image, I went only to 17
• Contrast = 100
• Clarity = 100
• Vibrance = 100
• Saturation = -81 (basically what I do here is drag the saturation all the way to the left, to -100 (which removes all color, making it a black and white image), and then I slowly drag back to the right until some of the color starts to return to the image. In my image, I took it down to -61, leaving it a bit more colourful than suggested. I just love the red of the pushchair.

{ADJUSTMENT BRUSH}

Once you get the look the way you want it, head over to the adjustment brush. In Dave’s work, the models always have silky smooth skin, even the blokes. You can use to pre-set ’soften skin’ brush. When you’ve done the skin, click ‘new’ and do another soften skin brush. In this image, I used 5 or 6 new skin softening brushes before his skin was smooth enough. Even then, it probably could have used more:

Once it’s finished in LR, I headed into PS and did a simple duplicate layer > soft light > very low percent (around 10%) just to add to the contrast. You could even add a gaussian blur to the top layer to soften the image a tad bit more.

I don’t remember if Scott mentioned this or not, but a vignette can be excellent, especially in the case of intentional barrel distortion as in the image above.

One thing I’ve found with this method in LR is the problem of severe fringing of some of the more contrasty edges as seen here:

No matter what I do to alter the sliders, this does not go away. A biproduct of doing this method in LR, you’re better off finding ways to do it in PS if you have the resource. If not, you can just pretend it doesn’t exist like I do. I really should try harder to be a perfectionist!

Are there other photographers whose skills you totally covet and try to harness for yourself?

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

The Dave Hill Look in Lightroom

As February has come to an end, so has our series of food assignments. Our last food assignment was focused on Beverages. Whether those were drinks that warm you on a cold day, or the cool refreshing drinks of summer, we wanted to see them all. Our winner this week was GwenieThePooh’s “‘Diet’ Coke”. This was one of those shots that was clever, made us smile, and stuck in our minds during the assignment. Our first runner up was thebubblybeginner’s “Mocho Cocoa!”. The lighting on this shot was great, it was simple and very effective. You can almost feel the warmth of the cocoa and the coolness of the whipped cream on top. And last, but not least was eBomb’s “Cold Bull”. This one really has the feel of a product shot. From the crisp white ice to the bold colours of the energy drink, this shot stood out to us and made us think that it might be a good afternoon pick-me-up at the end of a long week. Well done everyone!

Our newest assignment was also posted this week, and we wanted you to go ahead and Jump!. We had this assignment last year, but it’s always a fun one. Whether it’s a jumping self portrait, an animal, or another person, we want you to make sure that their feet are off the ground! And while that might sound easy once you get the technical part of the assignment down, don’t forget to consider your composition and lighting in these shots too. As always, a quick reminder of the assignment rules. First, your photo needs to have been taken between 24 February – 10 March 2010. Your post must include the words “Assignment: Jump!” and the date that the photo was taken. And last, but not least, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include some of the main points like: camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, etc. Next week’s assignment will be Commute and will run from 3 March – 17 March 2010. We want you to show us how you commute each day. Whether it’s by bike, by foot, by car, by train, by horse… show us how you get from point A to point B.

Hot Threads

• Simple Water Droplet Tutorial: Have you ever seen those water droplet shots that look like colourful glass or almost living creatures as the water splashes up? Have you seen them and thought you need all kinds of specialized gear to take these kind of shots? Powerpix put up a tutorial showing how to take these shots with an 18-55mm kit lens that many of us own. So if you’ve ever wanted to shoot water drops but weren’t quite sure how, come check out this thread.
• Digital Rangefinders: In the last few months there have been more and more digital rangefinders hitting the market. They’re smaller than DSLRs, but have the ability to change lenses and are getting good reviews. But one forum member asked about any “overlooked” gems in the digital rangefinder world. So if you’ve used one or are looking at one yourself, why not join in the discussion over in the forum.
• Why do you need a tripod for shooting macros?: If you’re shooting macros you might be wondering if you really need a tripod, especially if you have enough light. After all, you can get a faster shutter speed. If you’ve ever wondered why you might still need a tripod though, you might want to check out this thread where there’s some great information about the benefits of tripods and other gear for shooting good macros.
• Black and White Photography: Once upon a time there was nothing but black and white film. But now, you have the option to not only shoot in colour, but do all sorts of things to enhance your photos. But sometimes this can make it difficult to shoot good black and white photos because we just aren’t used to it. Not to mention it can be hard to see how a black and white photo would come out when the world around us is so colorful. Come share your tips, tricks, hints and suggestions on how to shoot good black and white photos over in the forum.
• What Would You Do: One of the fun and creative parts of our forum is the weekly post-processing game we call “What Would You Do”. You may be familiar with this game if you’ve been on the forums for a while because we’re up to number 136. But if you’re new to the forums, this is our weekly game where where you get the chance to post-process another forum member’s photo and show us what you would do with it. Often times people get some great ideas of how they could improve their shots in ways they may never have thought of otherwise.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (28 Feb – 6 Mar ‘10)

La verità dello sguardo, l'ipocrisia del sorriso - by pensatore Istintivo!

This weekend’s photography challenge is something that we should all have at least some access to – it’s to photograph and share an image on the theme of ‘Smile’.

Feel free to take whatever approach with the theme that you like (although I’m assuming we’ll mainly get portraits on this one). Perhaps you want to take a photo of someone smiling – of something that makes you smile – or perhaps you want to get a little more abstract…. it’s up to you.

Once you’ve taken your “SMILE” image, upload it to your favourite photo sharing site and either share a link to it below or embed it in the comments using the our new tool to do so.

If you tag your photo on Flickr, Twitter or other sites with Tagging tag it as #DPSSMILE to help others find it. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

Thanks to @10timesone on Twitter who suggested this week’s challenge. To submit an idea for a theme for next week’s challenge follow us on Twitter and @reply to us with your idea.

Frederick: by Thomas Hawk

Hole II. Rameswaram: by entrelec

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

SMILE: Weekend Photography Challenge