Julie Powell is a photographer, writer and educator, offers unique photographic opportunities and inspirational ideas to help YOU become the photographer you wish to be.
Stuck at home on a miserable day? Why not take a creative class (or two) to fill in a dreary afternoon? What better time to learn something to set your inspiration on fire than a day when you really don’t want to be out shooting? Here are some ideas.
Without even getting into all the excellent features in regard to editing your photos in Capture One, there is a lot to offer a photographer. This is especially if you are a studio photographer. So, I put a list of just a few of my favourite features in Capture One, all in one handy location.
I’m a big fan of AfterShoot for culling through my images super fast, so I was really keen to see what’s new in the latest AfterShoot (Version 2.5.770) software update. The magical unicorns at AfterShoot have been busy and also listening to the community, and have made some great additions when it comes to culling selections and choices.
Luminar Neo now gives you Focus Stacking extension in the latest software update. Keep everything in focus with this AI-powered Focus Stacking extension. A simple, easy, powerful extension to align and stack your images.
We’re seeing lots of new features in the latest Lightroom Classic software update from Adobe. One small addition is the Mask Amount slider. This allows the user to adjust the intensity of the edits applied to your local adjustments.
Among the new additions to the recent Lightroom Classic update is the new Select People tool. In the previous version of Lightroom, you could use Select Subject to mask people in your photos and then edit them separately from your background. The new Select People tool takes it even further.
For many years Adobe has been trying to improve the Healing tools in Lightroom Classic. Each update brings some improvement. This current update brings us an AI-generated Content-Aware Remove to remove objects is another step forward.
So don’t let the weather bring you down. Make the most of the dreary weather and have an indoor photography adventure with friends.
Have you ever really stopped and looked at what’s out your front door? Or even your backdoor? Without ever leaving your property, sometimes it’s worth having a second look at what marvels you have. And not just for macro photography either.
I’m a firm believer in capturing the action of behind-the-scenes videos. Whether it’s portraits, macro, product shoots or portraits a behind-the-scenes (BTS) video can tell so much of the story. Even landscape photographers can benefit from BTS video, allowing their audience to see what goes on behind the lens, and the effort we as creative went to, to capture the shot. Even with all my fancy camera gear, I still catch most of my BTS video on my trusty mobile phone.
Adobe just announced updates to a variety of products, including Lightroom. One of which I am pretty excited about is the updates to the masking tools. I took a look around the updated Masking tools area, with Select People, Objects and one-click Select background. So let’s have a little look at the overall features.
Sometimes when working with natural light, you can’t always get the most flattering image, especially when it comes to food photography. That’s where using a supplemental speed light can help dramatically.
Looking to enhance your dramatic portraits in B&W? Add a little cinematic drama to your images in a few steps in Luminar Neo
Yes, you read that correctly — you can use your mobile phone to shoot macro photography (even if you don’t have a fancy new iPhone). While it’s not super duper magnified, you can still get fairly close to your subject. I used my Samsung S21 and the Lightroom mobile app. Here’s what I did.
Have you been using the select and mask tools in Lightroom? Or have you been putting it off, as it looks a little daunting? Or perhaps you’re not really sure what to do with it? Here is a simple step-by-step on how to brighten (or darken) your background and brighten up and add more detail to your subject. Let’s start with a fairly simple still-life photo.
Are you looking for a quick easy way to smooth skin, without all the fuss of frequency separation or actions? Have you tried using the Skin Smoothing Neural filter in Photoshop? Let’s have a look at what it can do for you.
Don’t get caught up in the overwhelm of editing your holiday photos. No need to leave them on the SD Card or Hardrive, as you just can’t find the time to sort and edit them all. Now with a little help, it’s quick and easy and even dare I say…enjoyable.
This is a fun little project to try, creating bokeh with some simple items at home.
Depending on where you live it’s either Spring or Fall. Either way, chances are you’re bound to have a few days that the weather is just miserable and you really don’t feel like leaving the house and having a photography adventure. But don’t let that bring you down, why not make the most of the dreary weather and have an indoor photography adventure?
Here is a fun idea for a fall shoot, especially with the holidays just around the corner. Arrange a get-together with some of your photography friends, especially if you all like to bake or cook.
