Talking Lightroom and Photography with Adobe Lightroom Product Manager Katrin Eismann

This is the recording of a live broadcast where I'm joined by Adobe Lightroom Product Manager and photographer Katrin Eismann. We talk about her process for capturing stunning travel photographs, her personal projects and her kit, and we also take a look at what was Lightroom's latest technology for photographers at the time, along with some hints and tips for getting the best results. It's a great mix of photography and practical Lightroom advice from someone who knows the software inside out.

links mentioned during the broadcast

Katrin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katrineismann/ ( @katrin_eismann )

Lightroom Academy: lightroom.adobe.com/academy

Adobe Community Forums: https://community.adobe.com/

Marc Muench Photography Workshops: muenchworkshops.com/workshops/

Mastering the Art of Landscape Photography with Ian Asprey ( Landscape Photographer of the Year 2021 )

This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chat about landscape photography with Ian Asprey, Landscape Photographer of the Year 2021. From breathtaking vistas to the intricate details of composition, Ian shares his insights, his techniques and tales from behind the lens. If you've ever wondered what goes into an award-winning landscape photograph, this is a great chance to hear about it from a master of the craft and be inspired along the way.

Links mentioned during the LIVE Broadcast

Ian Asprey Website: www.ianaspreyphotography.co.uk

Facebook: facebook.com/ian.asprey

Instagram: @landscapes_ianasprey

Mark Andreas Jones: www.markandreasjones.com/

Lightroom Virtual Summit 2024: bit.ly/lvs-2024

Spending time with Photography Students at Cardiff and Vale College

On Wednesday this week I was at Cardiff and Vale College in South Wales, having been invited to speak to a group of Photography Students for a couple of hours.

It was so good to be amongst people who were clearly excited about their Photography but also in particular about the possibilities with their retouching using Lightroom .

During my time with them I first of all went through some tips and techniques for Portrait Photography, focusing (no pun intended) on the ‘people’ side of things as opposed to the technicals, and all with the intention of helping the person in front of the camera to relax.

After a short break I then went through retouching a portrait using ONLY Lightroom and going through my new workflow which shows how I am now doing tasks such as Dodging and Burning, my 2010 Technique and Lighting Effects, which up until very recently I would have only ever done by using Photoshop.

“Had a great time at Glyn’s lecture yesterday. I had been researching about how to take good portraits. What Glyn shared about techniques (with just one light!) was really encouraging. I was still using Photoshop for my editing, but the techniques demonstrated in Lightroom were amazing. I must sign up to his channel!”

— Norman Allen

“Thank you Glyn for yesterdays photography workshop. Your expertise and passion made it a truly enriching experience. Looking forward to applying the new skills I’ve learned. Many thanks for your valuable time.”

— Chathuranga Gamage

“Yesterday I attended a talk/presentation hosted by Glyn Dewis. This presentation was not only hugely informative but presented me with a number of questions to ask of myself. If I were to make comment on one thing from the presenter/presentation it would be the unswerving passion for the subject and inspiring others to achieve of their best. ”

— Steve Riggs

HUGE thanks to everyone for making me feel so incredibly welcome and for my great friend Anthony Crothers (College Staff / Tutor) for inviting me in.

The ART of ALTERNATIVE FASHION and CULTURAL PORTRAITS | Krishen Nagar

This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chat with portrait photographer Krishen Nagar about the art of alternative fashion and cultural portraits. We talk about his style and subject matter, working with models, his lighting, his kit and more, plus the importance of being genuine and not following the crowd. It's a conversation that'll resonate with anyone trying to find their own voice in portrait photography.

FOLLOW KRISHEN NAGAR ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram: @krishnagarphotography

Facebook: @krishen.nagar.5

LINKS MENTIONED IN THE BROADCAST

Lightroom Virtual Summit 2024 ( FREE PASS ): LINK

Royal Photographic Society Retouching Workshop: LINK

Classic Portraits with Constant Light

Recently I was back with friends in the studio taking portraits, and this time getting Steve in front of my camera to try out some ideas I’d stumbled across when browsing Pinterest that I thought would be another good excuse to get my L60-B constant light out for.

Pinterest

I’ve used Pinterest for years as a great place for not only finding inspiration by looking at the work of photographers I admire like Annie Leibovitz and Mark Seliger, but also a great tool for looking how other photographers pose their subjects, which lets face it can be awkward at times. 

Finding a balance between what you want but also making the pose look natural and the subject comfortable can be challenging to get right but I’ve always found it a massive help when you can guide your subject on what you’re looking for by showing them a picture.

Anyway, these here are some of the looks and poses I was really interested in …

Model for the Day

Model for the day was my dear friend Steve Healy whom I’ve known for years. 

There was a time when for quite a while we’d not met up because of Steve moving away to Devon but I’m glad to say that when we finally made the move to the South West , we’re now able to meet up fairly regularly to just hangout out and take photographs. This we will certainly be doing more and more of!

Anyway, Steve drove over to my house in the morning and then we both jumped into my car and headed to South Wales to catch up with the gang; some of my closest friends which to be honest are more like family … Ian Munro and Anthony Crothers.

This was the first time Steve had met up in person with Ian and Anthony even though I’m sure they felt like they knew each other anyway having messaged back and forth many times on social media and also in the chat room during my Sunday LIVE Broadcasts on YouTube. Needless to say … Steve instantly became ‘one of the gang’ 😃

So after a traditional meet up at Costa in Brynmawr, South Wales to fuel up on coffee, we then went to the studio and cracked on …

PORTRAIT 1

So the first portrait I really liked the look of doing was the one inspired by this portrait of Robert De Niro taken by Mark Seliger …

Steve had brought along a dark grey casual suit-type jacket which was ideal. He’d also bought a white shirt to wear underneath but when setting up we all felt that even though you’d only seen a small portion of it, it would be too distracting, so instead Steve kept with the black T-Shirt he was wearing.

BACKGROUND

• X-Drop Pro Background Support System

• Glyn Dewis Vintage Grey Background Material

For this I portrait as it was to be a fairly tight crop of Steve on one side and just a little bit of ‘dead space’ to the left, the 7’ x 5’ background would be plenty big enough and so this was set up with the rear supporting leg shortened so that the background took up less floor space and could be closer to the wall.

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LIGHT + MODIFIER

• Westcott L60-B COB LED Constant Light 

• Westcott 24” Rapid Box Switch Beauty Dish

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again … I absolutely LOVE this light!

I wouldn’t be exaggerating when I say that positioning the light (L60-B) to get the Rembrandt Lighting Pattern 100% BANG ON took just a few seconds; such is the convenience and ease of doing so when using because … What You See Is What You Get

Bottom Left: iPad Pro with Pinterest App open showin the ‘reference’ image

To achieve a quality of light that was neither hard or soft but somewhere in between, and also to minimise the amount of light that would spill onto the background, I opted to use the Westcott 24” Rapid Box Switch Beauty Dish and with the outer diffusion panel fitted.

Westcott 24” Rapid Box Switch Beauty Dish with Outer Diffusion Panel

CAMERA + Lens

• Sony A7RIV

• Sony 85mm f/4.0 G Master

CAMERA SETTINGS

• Aperture: F/4.0

• Shutter Speed: 1/60sec

• ISO 1250

Once set up and with any light in the studio that wasn’t contributing to the portrait turned off, I could then start taking portraits of Steve but what was really useful here was that everyone could see EXACTLY what the shots would be like without having to look at the back of my camera each time or look at my iPad Pro that I was tethering to; again because What You See Is What You Get

Studio lights and ‘any’ lights not contributing to the portrait turned off.

This made it so easy for anyone who wanted to make a suggestion and move in to maybe get Steve to angle himself differently or change the position of a hand.

It just worked and worked so incredibly well, making EVERYONE feel involved.

OUT OF CAMERA

Here’s the out of camera Raw file …

Original Raw file in Adobe Lightroom Classic

FINAL EDIT

Here’s the final retouched image which was worked on using both Lightroom and Photoshop …

Final Retocuhed Portrait

LIGHTROOM CLASSIC and PHOTOSHOP

Here’s a summary of the retouching steps carried out in both Lightroom Classic and Photoshop …

Lightroom

• Straighten & Crop

• Colour Correction*

• Denoise

• Masking (Enhance eyes - Iris and Pupil only)

*Had to do this manually as ‘somehow’ I forgot to use my Colour Checker Passport … Doh!

Photoshop

• Clean Up

• Dodge & Burn

• 2010

• Dreamy Glow (20%)

Lightroom

• Colour (CN16)

• Color Mixer (Reduce Orange & Red Saturation on Steve’s face)

• Masking (Radial Gradient to Shape Light)

• Masking Exposure on Face

• Add Grain

PORTRAIT 2

For the 2nd portrait of Steve, this was the photograph I used as the initial inspiration / idea …

For this we went with the exact same set up albeit positioning the light camera left this time as opposed to camera right as it was for the first portrait.

Below is what the set up looked like before turning off the lights in the studio that weren’t contributing to the portrait …

Using the single L60-B coming in from high up and angled down produced exactly the lighting that was wanted (below) however I felt that the shadow side of Steve’s head was a touch too dark …

To add a touch more light onto the shadow side of Steve’s head, rather than use a 2nd L60-B we just used a Silver Reflector which also had a white side to it, however between the two surfaces, the silver side gave the best result …

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OUT OF CAMERA

Here’s the ‘out of camera’ Raw file …

Out of Camera Raw file in Lightroom Classic

FINAL EDIT

Here’s the final retouched image which was worked on using both Lightroom Classic and Photoshop …

Final Retouched Portrait

lightroom classic and photoshop

Retouching steps in both Lightroom Classic and Photoshop were pretty much the same as in the first portrait, however there was one very definite difference.

When taking the 2nd portrait, we all felt that although Steve sitting on a stool worked, it did make him look a little squashed because of the height of the stool he was sitting on and also how his jacket sat, so we also tried a few shots with Steve standing …

With Steve standing it definitely stopped him looked squashed, however when looking at the images later in Lightroom Classic I was torn because I liked the pose and expression on Steve’s face from the seated shots.

So now in the retouching I was thinking I could either (a) do a head swap or (b) do the opposite of a technique I used to do when photographing physiques … and that’s what I chose to do.

PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL

Here’s a short video showing exactly what I did in Photoshop to reduce / remove the ‘squashed’ look …

WRAP UP

Following the photo shoot we all the headed over to Abergavenny for what was a delicious bite to eat at The Angel … THANK YOU Steve!

So there you go, all of the steps that I went through from the initial idea, the kit, the set up and the final edit.

As always if you have any questions / comments, please do make use of the section below and I’ll be sure to reply.

Oh and don’t forget, if you’re interested in getting ANY of the Westcott kit including lighting, modifers, backgrounds etc then drop me a line as I’ll be able to give you a Discount Code for 10% OFF

Cheers
Glyn

Documenting Life - The Evolution of a Wedding & Street Photographer | Kevin Mullins

This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chat with UK-based documentary wedding and street photographer Kevin Mullins. We talk about his process and his approach when photographing a wedding to capture those special moments, along with his kit, his style and everything else that goes into turning a passion into a successful business. If you're drawn to a documentary way of working, whether at weddings or out on the street, Kevin's experience is well worth hearing.

Links mentioned in the video

Kevin Mullins website: www.kevinmullinsphotography.co.uk

Kevin’s Lightroom Presets: LINK

Royal Photographic Society Retouching Workshop: LINK

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ADAPT - A Short Film

I was reminded not to underestimate how what we do can positively impact others when I received an email from someone who subscribes to my newsletter. Battling cancer over the past three years, and unable to drive, they'd struggled to get out with their camera, and for them, as for so many of us, photography provides escapism. Seeing my Adapt video lifted them and gave them the drive to plan to go out that weekend with their camera, staying local, because there's always something to photograph. I originally made Adapt as a form of self-medication during a very testing and uncertain time for all of us, when Covid restrictions forced me to try other genres of photography, and that has 100% made me a better photographer.

Mastering Concert Photography: Insider Tips & Techniques from a Pro | Scott Diussa

This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chat with concert photographer Scott Diussa and discover his process, his kit and his tips and tricks for photographing live music and events, including some of the biggest names in the industry, and all with limited time and space. Scott also shares some of his Lightroom editing techniques for bringing out the best in images taken in challenging lighting conditions, which is useful well beyond the concert hall.

links mentioned in the video

Scott Diussa’s Link Tree: imagesrock.com

KelbyOne Lightroom Conference: bit.ly/lrconf2024

Royal Photographic Society Workshop: bit.ly/rps-editing

The Art of CINEMATIC TOY PHOTOGRAPHY | Jesse Feyereisen

This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chat with the wonderful talent that is Jesse Feyereisen and go behind the scenes of his cinematic toy photography. Jesse shows how he lights, photographs and edits to create such incredible imagery of toys and action figures, turning small figures into scenes that look like stills from a film. If you've ever wanted to try toy photography, or you simply enjoy seeing a creative idea taken all the way through, there's a lot to enjoy here.

Capturing STUNNING NATURAL WORLD PHOTOGRAPHS in your BACK YARD | Tim Oliver

This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chat with photographer Tim Oliver and discover his tips and techniques for capturing stunning wildlife photographs, particularly of birds, but also of the natural world more widely. Tim shares the gear and kit he uses, and we uncover how he approaches retouching, printing and selling his work. It's a great reminder that you don't have to travel far to find incredible subjects; there's plenty right there in your own back yard.

links mentioned in the video

Tim Oliver’s Website: oliverimages.com

Tim Oliver on Instagram: @oliverimagesaz

Discount Code: Use code GLYN50 on Tim’s Website for 50% OFF Prints and Gift Shop Items