In today’s episode see a cool way to add different tones into your image with a couple easy steps using Duotone. The colors in these presets determine what your shadows, midtones, and highlights will look like. You can also choose your own color palette, and combine the layers using different blend mode and opacity combinations.

Today’s Episode Timeline

• 0:30 -Upcoming shoot
• 1:50 – Getting into color
• 2:15 – Duotone and Tritone
• 2:50 – Making a new document
• 3:01 – Working in grayscale
• 4:15- Using presets
• 5:15- Choosing your own colors
• 6:26- Curves
• 7:45- Blending these colors with your original images
• 9:50- Taking it one step further
• 10:20- Adding noise
• 11:10- Light rays
• 12:35- Show us your effects

Working Non-Destructively

Because you have to work in grayscale to be able to use this feature I would recommend making a new document. Grayscale converts the image into black and white, meaning you can’t make any changes later. To prevent this you can just bring the new document in as a layer after you finish in Duotone.

Push it Further

Another option after you finish is to add in light and grain to get the vintage style or film type look. You can add light into your photo quickly and easily by using the brush tool on dissolve and experimenting with opacity on that as well.

Watching this music video by Gotye, I couldn’t help but think how the progression they make parallels the progression artists make when coming up with an idea for a photo shoot.

That sounded way like I am full of myself and think I am smart. Trust me, not so. It will slap you in the face too, in a good way.

Timeline

• 1:00 – Announcing this week’s contest winners!
• 2:00 – This Week’s Contest – You are all eligible.
• 3:00 – Starting the music video
• 3:20 – Idea starts simply as all of our ideas do
• 3:45 – Branching off into an idea
• 4:30 – Building the idea, onto our subject
• 5:30 – introduction of the Punctum

Last Week’s Contest Winner

Lets us know which Phlearn PRO Photoshop Tutorial you would like!

• Daniel Cumisky- Can’t wait to see the images you get from that camera
• Jon Henbest- All of your entries were great ideas!
• Kevin Miller- Amazing image, this is such an awesome idea for cheap
• Justin Bonaparte - Nice job with the laundry basket
• James Brown- PVC is great for DIY. Thanks for the instructions on how to make something like this

New Contest

Post what inspires you! Photos, videos, poems, etc are all welcome. Be sure to leave it in a comment below. Get your friends and family to like your post!

The 5 people with the most likes on their comment will each win a Phlearn PRO of their choice. Good luck, and we can’t wait to see what inspires you.

Using stock images are an easy way to create a composite, but shooting your own backgrounds will probably take you the same amount of time if not less. It also gives you more control over the camera angle and overall view of the scene. Today we went to downtown Chicago and took advantage of some beautiful places the city has to offer.

Building a set lets you create a custom room or background for your images. It can be done  inexpensively and up the production value of your photos, giving you the freedom to dream up whatever crazy ideas you want.

What’s covered

• 0:35- Advantages of set building
• 1:45- What we’re building
• 2:30- Only build it to where it looks good from the camera angle
• 3:45- Materials used
• 6:00- Using drywall
• 7:15- Framing
• 8:45- Where to start with ideas

This episode gives tips to which camera settings are best for using strobes or speedlights. Shooting in manual mode, having the right shutter speed, and using a low ISO will help give you the better end results and prevent those black lines across your image.

Timeline

• 0:25- Off camera lighting
• 1:00- Sync speed
• 2:45- Applying this when using flashes
• 4:20- Best sync speed range to use
• 4:40- White balance settings
• 6:15-  Shooting in manual mode
• 7:10- Aperture, ISO, and shutter speed settings
• 9:15- Radio transmitters

Camera Settings

Your camera only sees what’s going on without the flashes, so it can’t predict white balance or appropriate shutter speed. Using a custom white balance, or the flash setting, is better than using auto.

Manual or aperture priority mode is important because you can’t rely on the meter in your camera, it will only measure the ambient light. Make sure to use a low ISO (100 or 200 if you can) and a shutter speed close to 1/125. A light meter is great to tell you exactly what your aperture will be set to, and you can then adjust the power of your lights if its too high or too low.

Radio Transmitters

Cyber Syncs

Radio Poppers

Change Up Your Lights

Its very easy to mess up an image by using a gel too directly and by using too many colors. This episode covers how to use them in a subtle way to change the overall mood of your photos and which lighting works best.

Timeline

• 0:00- Ferdinand Magellan
• 0:30- Explanation of gels and how to use them
• 2:00- Gel grades
• 3:15- Light setup
• 4:10- Using full power with orange gel
• 4:30- Using complimentary colors
• 5:20- Softbox lighting
• 6:20- Let us know if you have any examples!

How to Choose Colors

Complimentary colors always work well together. Try using a warm and cool combination when choosing which gels you want to use, and combining them in a way that makes sense. Colors are much easier to get right by using a color wheel and planning out your final image before you start.  You can also try placing the warmer tones in the foreground and cooler in the back, or vice versa.

In today’s episode I explain how to make a snoot and the best materials to make lighting modifiers with. Using things available at any hardware store can save you from buying expensive equipment and help you get different creative effects.

All the Info

• 0:35 New Contest for this week
• 1:35- Definition of the super snoot
• 2:00- DIY vs. buying
• 2:30- How I made this modifier and materials used
• 3:30-  Attaching the snoot to light stand or boom
• 4:30- Testing it out
• 4:55- Plan for the shoot and how the light will be used
• 7:00- Showing how the light will hit subject
• 07:30- Best ways to make a modifier

DIY Contest

Show us what you’ve made! DIY projects for lighting, light modifiers, anything to do with photography. Upload your image below for a chance to win a Phlearn Pro. We will choose 5 winners and announce them next Monday.

Click on image to view it larger

Using Main and Fill Light

In this episode we cover what’s called “clamshell lighting,”  with a beauty dish as our main light and softbox as fill. We go over the power levels of each and how they can best be used together.

All the Info

• 0:20 News and Updates
• 1:35- Using a main/key light and issues
• 2:35- Why a fill light will help, why it shouldn’t be as strong as fill
• 2:45- Our light setup with softbox
• 3:20-  How the light will affect the shadows
• 3:55- Measuring ratio using the light meter
• 4:35- Metering for the main light
• 5:45- Turning up the fill light to full power and showing example
• 07:15- Lowering the light to half power
• 08:18- Explanation of a stop
• 09:20- Using ratio with the light, not in camera
• 10:10 Using the 3:1 ratio
• 11:48- Putting this ratio into practice

Why Fill Should be Based off the Main Light

Your key or main light is the primary source of light in the image. The fill is simply used to add detail back into your shadows, and if you add to much or too little it can throw off the look of the photo. Using a 3:1 ratio will help you bracket so that you have an image showing detail in every area.

A beauty dish is unique in that it creates a hard light that has soft edges. It does not have a “hot spot” in the middle of it like most reflectors, and can be used to make portraits very compelling.

What’s covered

• 0:30 Congrats to Dave for winning the Phlearn PRO contest!
• 1:16- Using our shotgun mic
• 3:10- Why relative size is important
• 4:00- When to use a beauty dish
• 4:40- When to not use a beauty dish
• 6:00- Making a DIY beautydish
• 6:45- balancing a boom
• 8:00- Best postion for a beauty dish
• 10:00- placing a beauty dish too far from your subject

Why Distance Is Important

Beauty dishes have a “Sweet Spot” where they work the best. The reason this modifier exists is to create a hard light source with semi-soft edges, and no hot spot in the middle of the light. Perfect for portraits.

That being said, these are pretty much only good for portraits. You won’t get the benefits of the light if your beauty dish is too far from your subject, it will just appear to be a small light source.

For most beauty dishes, you want to place them from 6 inches to 2 ft from your subject’s face.

In this episode I’ll show you how one light can change the result of your image through the distance and height from your subject. We show you where the light was with each photo and explain why some angles are better than others.

What’s covered

• 0:30 Change lighting by moving your softbox
• 1:26- Using a Light Meter
• 2:10- Side lit images
• 2:30- Lit from underneath
• 2:40- Back lighting
• 3:00- Lit from above and in front , closeup!
• 3:20- Explanation of modeling light and how it can be used to help
• 4:00- Which angles work better and why
• 4:47- Contest info!

Links

Sekonic Light Meter

Paul C. Buff Softboxes

Don’t forget about our contest on facebook! Win $100 and your image made into a Pro. Due at 7pm CST, TODAY