On the cover: A composite of models photographed in Venice with a Russian palace. This page: A copybara and a cattle tyrant in the Pantanal region of Brazil.
Throughout my career as a photographer and especially as a photo tour guide, I've heard countless times how clients constantly conform their picture taking to please judges in photo competitions. If I've heard it once I've heard it a thousand times, "I can't do that because it won't be accepted into the competition." Or, such and such a judge only gives high marks if I use the Rule of Thirds; or, replacing a sky isn't accepted in my club's photo contests, and so on.
I've never understood why some people focus on pleasing other people with their photography instead of themselves. Everyone likes compliments, but is getting a ribbon so much more important than creating the types of images you really like? Isn't the whole point of being a hobbyist in photography to get excited about making images that please you?
I have judged many photo contests, and obviously there are certain standards good images follow. But given that the pictures are sharp, well exposed and well composed, the rest of it is entirely subjective. One judge can love an image while another judge doesn't find it that appealing at all. A judge who loves landscapes might be turned off by pictures of babies, for example.
So what can you conclude from this? Basically, whether you place highly in a competition -- or perhaps even win -- is largely based on the taste, the mood, the emotions, and even the psychology of the judges. And you still want to orient your shooting to please a variety of people with varying tastes, changeable moods, and who knows what emotional or psychological state they are in when they review your images?
When I was first starting out in photography at 20 years old, I went through a period of creating very strange and bizarre images. It was my first foray into special effects, and my mother hated them. What kid doesn't want to please his mother? But instead of changing my images, I just didn't show the weird stuff to her. I knew at that young age that artists have to please themselves first, or else what's the point?
Jim Zuckerman photos@jimzuckerman.com www.jimzuckerman.com
Adding a Light Beam
Bt eams of light are dramatic elements in a photograph. They occur naturally when air is dense with dust, fog, mist or low clouds -- something for the directional light to interact with. Most of the time, of course, light beams are absent. But that doesn't mean we let reality get in the way of artistry.
There are several ways of adding light beams to images. What I describe here is one of them.
1. The first consideration is choosing a picture in which a beam of light is appropriate. It has
to make sense. For example, in the photo below of Bath Abbey in England, the beam emanates from a bright window which is exactly what it would do . . . if the sun were in the right place and the interior of the church had airborn dust.
The photograph of Salzburg, Austria, on the next page shows dramatic sunset lighting on the castle. A small window opened in the clouds just five minutes before sunset, and although the illumiation was stunning, no beam occurred. It was appropriate, though, to add the beam given the directional nature of the sunlight.
2. With the picture open in Photoshop, add a new layer. You do that by clicking the + icon in the lower right corner of the layers palette (red arrow, right). You'll see the blank new layer appear above the original background layer (yellow arrow). This step allows you complete control over the density of the light beam as I'll explain shortly.
3. Next, in the tools palette, select the polygonal lasso tool. You can find it in the small submenu with the lasso tool. This allows you
to prescribe the size, dimensions, and shape of the beam. To create the selection, touch the cursor to the bright area from where the beam will emanate. In the example below, I touched the cursor at the far right edge of the frame. From there, touch the cursor again to the farthest point where the beam will be. Continue until you've made a selection. When the cursor
touches the the first point laid down, the circuit is closed and you'll see the marching ants shown below.
4. The next step is to click Select > modify > feather. The edge of the beam has to be softened to look more realistic. A sharp edge would look silly. For the image below, which was originally a 60.2 megabyte, I feathered the edge of the selection 100 pixels. For smaller files, the amount of feathering would be less than this; conversely, for larger files, the feathering needs to be increased to make the transition between the beam and the background appropriately and naturally softened.
5. Choose the gradient tool and make white the color (or possibly pale yellow since in this case the sunset lighting is more golden) in the foreground color box at the bottom of the tools
palette. Drag the cursor through the selection and you'll see the beam of light created. The beam will be correctly attenuated; in other words, it will gradually fade as the distance from the 'light source' increases.
6. The new layer you created at the outset now comes into play. Usually, when you drag the cursor with the gradient tool to make the light beam, Step 5, the beam is too dense. It needs some transparency to show the underlying part of the picture. Because it's on a layer, you can simply adjust its opacity in the layers palette from 100% to a lesser amount. I found this was necessary virtually all the time, and once this change is made, the beam looks much more realistic. The beam I created in the shot from Austria on the previous page was reduced to 65% opacity. Each image will be different, so you'll decided on what looks good simply based on your taste. §
Winter Wildlife Workshop
February 6 - 11, 2025y 13 - 22024
Breaking the Rules
Clients have told me when they enter competitions in their camera clubs, their images are downgraded when traditional rules of composition aren't followed. For example, centrally placed subjects don't adhere to the Rule of Thirds, and therefore judges vote against them. I've never understood this.
Concepts in composition, such as the Rule of Thirds, aren't rules at all. They are guidelines. They suggest a certain approach, but by no means do these 'suggestions' negate other ways of composing a shot. Many times the
Rule of Thirds is the perfect way to compose a picture. Sometimes it's not. Usually, there is more than one way to design a composition, and the Rule of Thirds is just one of them.
A case in point is the lone tree I captured in Deadvlei, a dried lake bed in Namibia, below. The central placement in the frame is perfect. Could I also have composed this with the tree on the left or right vertical third? Yes, for sure. That also would have worked. In this instance, though, I preferred this approach because I liked the balance and the symmetry as well as the simplicity of the graphic design.
The same holds true for the lone maple tree I shot in Tennessee, below. With landscape photography, the Rule of Thirds virtually always works. But . . . that doesn't mean it's the only way to compose images. The central placement of the tree underscores its symmetry and perfection of shape. I did place the horizon line on the lower horizontal third, however.
In some cases, a central placement is the only sensible choice and the Rule of Thirds doesn't make sense. The picture of a black-collared hawk from the Pantanal region of Brazil on the next page is an example. To compose this picture such that the bird is off-center and aligned along one of the vertical thirds wouldn't look good at all. And if it were composed along one of the horizontal thirds, I would feel the emphasis would largely be on the background and not the hawk. Placing it dead-center, in this situation, is the best treat-
ment to direct our attention exactly where it's supposed to be . . . on the subject.
Another tenant of composition -- one that I usually follow but not always -- is the idea that a moving subject, like a bird in flight or galloping horses, should be moving into the frame. In other words, according to this 'rule', the subject in motion should be moving from the far left or far right side of the frame toward the center.
Breaking the rule, though, sets up a visual tension that, in my opinion, is unexpected and therefore holds our attention more than it otherwise might. An example of this is the shot of the white horses of the Camargue frolicking on a beach in southern France seen on the next page. I'm sure if this picture were entered into a contest it would be disquali-
fied because, according to the judges, the horses should have been composed at the far left.
Over the years, I've judged dozens of photography competitions, and I would respectfully disagree. Placing the horses on the left is one approach for sure. That would produce a successful image. In my opinion, though, the treatment you see here works just as well. In art and photography, there are truly no absolutes. There are only subjective
opinions. What is a certainty to one photographer is something another photographer vehemently takes issue with. You can certainly accept a constructive critique from someone you respect, but that doesn't mean he or she is right given the way you see things with your camera. Ultimately, your picture taking is all about pleasing yourself. §
Ethiopia Photo Tour
Jan. 21 - Feb. 3, 2025
Exotic Colombia Birds
Sept. 23 to Oct. 3, 2026
Pantanal Photo Tour, Brazil
Jaguars in the wild, birds in flight, caiman, otters and more
Nov. 9 - 17, 2025
Photography Quiz
1. A neutral density filter with a designation of '8' indicates how many f/stops of light is decreased?
a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
d. 8
e. None of the above
2. Heating a black body radiator and assessing the color of light that's emanated is the basis of white balance.
a. True
b. False
3. Leading lines, S-curves, and the Rule of Thirds are principles of:
a. Negative space
b. Color theory
c. The hyperfocal distance
d. Composition
4. If the animal or human subject is angled to the camera and you can only focus on one of the eyes due to shallow dof, you should focus on the closest eye to the camera.
a. True
b. False
5. Rembrandt lighting is characterized by:
a. The light source positioned behind the subject
b. Window light
c. A triangle of light on the cheek opposite the light source
d. A butterfly shadow beneath the nose
6. A Kelvin temperature of 6500 is:
a. On the bluish side of the color spectrum
b. On the yellowish side of the color spectrum
c. On the reddish side of the color spectrum
d. On the greenish side of the color spectrum
7. HDR is designed to solve the photographic problem of:
a. Depth of field
b. Color balance
c. Focus discrepancies
d. Contrast
8. When you use an extension tube, you lose the ability to focus at infinity.
a. True
b. False
9. If you are using a 50mm lens with a 50mm extenstion tube, the light loss equals:
a. 1 f/stop
b. 2 f/stops
c. 3 f/stops
d. 4 f/stops
10. If you see a dust spot in a photo, the speck of dust is most likely:
a. On the front of the lens
b. On the ground glass in the camera
c. On the digital sensor
d. None of the above
What to do about terrible backgrounds at
F
E S T I V A L S ?
Jember is a small city in East Java, Indonesia. Every year they have a world class festival. The most beautiful costumes imaginable are on display, and instead of masks the participants decorate their faces with outlandish themes using amazing materials. During the festivities there is a day devoted to children, which is fantastic, and the latest addition to the proceedings is a costumed night parade in which there are fire-breath-
ers, neon lights, and irridescent colors.
As with all festivals, photographers usually focus on closeups to avoid unattractive and distracting backgrounds. The image below is a case in point. The subjects -- the purple costumed dancers -are beautiful, but the background is horrible. So, what to do about that?
There are two choices. First, you can blur the background as if you'd used a large aperture on
a long lens. The slight blur improves the image a little. That's what I did in the image at right. It's still a bad background, but it's a little better than the original.
To do this, I meticulously selected the background using the pen tool. This took a lot of time, but I felt it was worth doing to save the picture. Then I used Filter > blur gallery > field blur. Then you have to decide how much blur to add. Too much and the effect looks artificial; too little and the background is more defined and therefore distracting. The other
option is to replace the background entirely. Once you have a precise selection, this becomes a simple cut and paste procedure. The composite below shows an Indonesian temple, Prambanan, photographed at dusk. I pasted it (Edit > paste special > past into) behind the costumed participants. And what an incredible difference this makes! §
UPCOMING PHOTO WORKSHOPS
Snowy Owl Workshop
Close up encounters with these beautiful birds of the North. Capture bird in flight shots in a snowy environment. Jim guides you in camera settings and technique to take the best pictures possible.
January 9 - 13, 2025
AI Imagine Making Online Course
In this 3-session online course, learn how to make amazing images -- real or fantasy -with web based AI software. Let your imagination run wild! You can create the most stunning, dramatic, and outrageous images -- as well as works of art, wildlife, landscapes, floral abstracts and still more.
Nov. 23, 30 & Dec. 7, 2024
Carnival in Venice
Photograph amazing costumes in a Medieval environment. We shoot inside a 16th century palace, in an iconic gondola, in a stunning bedroom with traditional Venetian decor, and at other great locations. The photography as well as the experience is phenomenal.
February 23 - March 1, 2025
eBooks
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Abandoned in Georgia
April 21 - 27, 2025
What's Wrong with this Picture?
What defines the success of most photographs is graphic design. Composition -- the placement and arrangement of elements in a frame -- is all about design. Similarly, the choice of subject is all about design. And graphic design, in its essence, is all about beautiful lines. Therefore, when you choose to photograph a subject -- architecture, landscapes, macro subjects, fashion, a galloping horse -- pay close attention to the lines that make up the design.
The problem with this image is that the tree doesn't have an attractive shape. The graphics are too busy, too messy. The fog is good, the cool color tones work (I purposely kept the blue color) and the exposure is correct. The design of the tree, though, isn't going to win any awards.
The picture above also has good exposure, and the moody fog works nicely as in the previous picture. What makes this shot better, though, is it has attractive graphic design. There are several artistic curves (S-curves and Ccurves are almost always positive contributors to the success of an image), the branches seem to be radiating out from a central hub at the bottom center of the frame (a nice design element), and although the branches are busy, they form an attractive, balanced pattern.
Not all trees are created equally. The same is true for mountains, waterfalls, dancers, buildings, the graphic shapes of wildlife, and everything else. It is our job as photographers to choose subjects with dynamic graphic designs. It makes all the difference. §
On Safari: Kenya
March 9 - 18, 2026
SHORT AND SWEET
1. I took this picture of ancient Roman baths in the city of Bath, England, at mid-morning with harsh, direct sunlight. The only reason it looks good is because I used HDR to imbue both highlights and shadows with detail. HDR is the answer for mitigating too much contrast.
3. Flood is a plugin that makes realistic reflections. I took this shot of a model in Death Valley, California, where there was no water at all. The watery reflection is entirely a digital creation. Flood is made by flamingpear.com, and it is invaluable in so many different kinds of scenarios.
2. If you frame a subject, both the frame itself and the subject have to be sharp. In this picture of a mountain lion cub, I didn't use enough depth of field and the top edge of the frame isn't as sharp as it should have been. That was a mistake. I should have moved back a little or used a smaller aperture to make this image perfect.
4. When you're driving, keep your eyes peeled for cool subjects you may want to return to and photograph. So many times you'll pass abandoned properties, both in large cities and rural areas, that are worthy of shooting if you only had your camera. I found this cool old house while driving in Arizona. §
Vietnam Photo Tour
October 13 - 23, 2025
ASK JIM
Every month, Jim answers a question from his online students, from people who participate in his tours and workshops, or from subscribers to this magazine. If you have a question you’d like Jim to answer, please drop him a note at photos@jimzuckerman.com.
Q: Jim . . . Many times when I'm photographing architecture or a skyline in large cities there are construction cranes in the pictures. I don't like that. This is the Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge in Charleston. How would you get rid of the cranes in this shot? The very subtle gradation of color tone in the sky makes the clone tool very difficult to use here.
Julia
Collins, Greenville, South Carolina
A: You are correct that the subtle colors in the sky make the clone tool a challenge. Now we have the remarkable AI tool in Photoshop called 'generative fill', and this is exactly what will seamlessly eliminate the cranes. You can get rid of them one by one with the lasso tool and then choosing Edit > generative fill, or you can encircle all of them at the same time (but each one separately) and then when you apply the command, Edit > generative fill, all the cranes will disappear at once. §
Each month, Jim features one student who took beautiful and inspiring images on one or more of his photography tours or workshops. It’s really fascinating how photographers see and compose such different images even though we may go to the same places. Everyone takes great photographs on Jim’s trips.
Anand Nirgude, Mumbai, India Iceland drone photo tour, Winter Wildlife workshop, Snowy Owls workshop, Carnival in Venice workshop, Holland & Bellgium photo tour, and Vermont photo workshop.
(c) Anand Nirgude
Student Showcase,
(c) Anand Nirgude
Student Showcase,
(c) Anand Nirgude
Student Showcase,
(c) Anand Nirgude
PHOTO TOUR to CHINA
January 3 - 14, 2026
Harbin Snow & Ice Festival
AI Image Making online course
Starts Nov. 23, 2024
‘14
‘19 Jan. ‘20
1/3 focus law Jul. ‘15
Subject index for past Photo Insight issues
3D sphere Mar. ‘16
90 degree finder Mar. ‘13
Abstracts in soap Feb. ‘15
Abstracts, Shooting Mar ‘19
Aerial photography Jun. ‘13
Aerial photography Jan. ‘21
African safari May ‘16
AI plus Photograpjhy Oct. ‘23
AI, Photos-to-AI Oct. '24
Airplane windows Mar. ‘16
Alien landscapes Jan. ‘13
Anatomy of 8 photographs Jan. ‘16
Anatomy of an Action Shot Feb. ‘24
Angled perspectives Jan. ‘19
Aperture vs. shutter speed May ‘14
Aperture priority Sept. ‘14
Aperture priority and other modes Jul. ‘24
Aurora Borealis Apr. ‘17
Auto white balance Dec. ‘13
Autofocus, when it fails Apr. ‘15
Autofocus failure Aug. ‘15
Autofocus failure Jan. ‘17
Autofocus challenges Apr. ‘18
Auto ISO Nov ‘17
Auto White Balance Mar’ ‘21
Autumn Foliage Sep. ‘18
Autumn Color Sep. ‘20
Autumn foliage photography Oct. ‘21
AWB versus Daylight WB May ‘24
t Back button focus Oct. ‘18
Backgrounds, wild Nov. ‘12
Backgrounds, busy Apr. ‘13
Backlighting Apr. ‘16
Backlighting Oct. ‘22
Birds in flight Aug. ‘13
Birds in flight Jan. ‘14
Birefringence May ‘18
Birds in flight Mar. ‘16
Birds in flight, camera settings Jan. ‘23
Bird Photography Jun ‘19
Black backgrounds Aug. ‘23
Blacklight photography Feb. ‘21
Black velvet Mar. ‘14
Black and white conversions Mar. ‘17
Black and white infrared Apr. ‘24
Black and white solarization Sep. ‘17
Black and white with color Jan. ‘20
Black and white plus color Mar. ‘23
Blown highlights Feb. ‘18
Blue monochromes Jan. ‘22
Black Plexy Aug. ‘22
Blur, field Nov. ‘18
Blur technique Oct. ‘17
Bokeh Jun. ‘15
Botanical gardens, shooting Apr. ‘22
Butterfly photography Jul. ‘14
Buying nature Jul. ‘24
Camera buying guidelines Dec. 21
Camera settings for landscapes Feb. ‘23
Camera setting priorities Jun. ‘17
Canon R5 Mar. ‘21
Capturing lightning Jun. ‘13
Capturing lightning Jun. ‘24
Capturing what you don’t see May ‘21
Catchlights Jul. ‘16
Changing perspective May ‘21
Cheap flash stand Apr. ‘13
Children photography Jun. ‘14
Choosing a telephoto lens Dec. ‘20
Chromatic aberration May ‘13
Chrome Dec. ‘18
Cityscapes Aug. ‘14
Cityscapes May ‘16
Clone tool, fixing an issue Sep. ‘17
Clone tool technique Jul. ‘20
Color theory Nov. ‘23
Composites and Light Dec. ‘17
Composites, Secrets to perfect Jun. ‘24
Compositing images Apr. ‘19
Compositing, 7 steps Jan. 22
Composition, different approach Jan. ‘15
Content-aware, New Aug. ‘20
Content aware move tool Jan. ‘23
Contrast vs. exposure Jul. ‘15
Contrast, When it is good Sep. '24
Converting to black and white Mar. ‘22
Correcting keystoning Jun. ‘21
Creating a star field Jan. ‘14
Creating Art out of Motion May ‘22
Creating a Sketch Dec. ‘17
Creative blurs Jan. ‘14
Custom functions Jul. ‘23t
Dark backgrounds Nov. ‘19
Dawn photography Jan. ‘17
Dawn photography Feb. ‘17
Dead center Jan. ‘13
Dead center Oct. ‘23
Dealing with smog Oct. ‘16
Decay photography Sep. ‘15
Define Pattern Sep. ‘18
Define Pattern Sep. '24
Depth of field Aug. ‘16
Depth of field confusion Jan. ‘20
Depth of field and distance Dec. ‘18
Depth of field and obliqueness May ‘21
Depth of field, shallow Apr. ‘20
Depth of field vs. sharpness Nov. ‘20
Double takes Apr. ‘20
Drone photography Mar. ‘23
Drone, Lessons from a tour Oct. '24
Drop shadows Apr. ‘19
Dust, Minimizing Aug. ‘19
eBook, how to make Jan. ‘13
Elevated vantage points Aug. ‘23
Eliminating people from photos Jun. ‘22
Embedded in Ice Oct. 17
Energy saving bulbs Sep. ‘14
Equidistance and telephoto lenses Apri. ‘23
Exploring the power visuals of AI Mar. ‘23
Exposing for the sun Sep. ‘16
Exposure, the sun Jul. ‘13
Exposure technique Sep. ‘13
Exposure, snow Jan. ‘14
Exposure triangle Nov. ‘14
Exposure, to the right Apr. ‘15
Exposure compensation Sep. ‘16
Exposure compensation Mar. ‘21
Extension tubes Dec. ‘13
Extension tubes Jul. ‘23
Face sculpting Apr. ‘21
Face sculpting Feb. ‘22
Subject index for past Photo Insight issues
Festival photography
Fill flash
Filter forge
Sep. ‘20
Sep. ‘13
Feb. ‘13
Fireworks Jul. ‘13
Fireworks, Compositing
Jun ‘20
Fisheye lenses May ‘13
Fisheye lenses
Fisheye fantasies
Fixing parallax
Flash backlighting
Flash, balancing exposure
Flash, balancing off-camera
Flat art
Flexify 2
Flood fixes problems
Floral Portraits, Indoors
Feb. ‘15
Oct. 21
Oct. '24
May ‘15
Oct. ‘15
Dec. ‘18
Sep. ‘16
Mar. ‘20
Nov. ‘19
Aug. ‘21
Flowers May ‘15
Flower photography
Flowers in harsh light
Focus on the eyes
Focus points
Focus points
Focus stacking
Focus stacking
Focusing in the dark
Apr ‘21
Jul. ‘16
Dec. ‘20
Mar. ‘15
Sep. ‘20
Mar. ‘17
Aug. ‘19
Oct. ‘16
Foreign Dancers, Photographing Nov’ 17
Foreign models
Fractals, generating
Fractals
Framing
Framing
Freezing ultra action
Jun. ‘13
Sep. ‘13
Jul. ‘19
May ‘17
Jan. ‘24
May ‘17
From Terrible to Beautiful Aug. ‘19
Fun with paint
Oct. ‘16
Fundamental ingredients Apr. ‘13
Fundamentals That Make Great Photos Jan. ‘19
Fun With Christmas Lights Jan. ‘21
Fun with Food
Graphic Design
Jul. ‘20
Garish imagery Dec. ‘15
Generative fill Jun. ‘23
Getting money for used gear Jan.’ 22
Getting the blues out Dec. ‘23
Great subjects
Apr. ‘15
Great ceilings & HDR Panos Jul. ‘19
Green screen Mar. ‘13
Ground level shooting Oct. ‘22
Grunge technique Feb. ‘13
Harsh light, the problem of Apr. ‘24
Heavy Lens Debate, The Feb. ‘23
HDR, one photo Apr. ‘13
HDR at twilight May ‘13
HDR, realistic Jun. ‘15
HDR, hand held Dec. ‘16
HDR, hand held Nov ‘17
HDR, hand held Jul. ‘18
HDR panoramas Jun. ‘16
HDR, choosing the number of frames Jun. ‘22
High wind Apr. ‘17
Highlights Apr. ‘14
Highlights, overexposed Feb. ‘15
Histograms, Why I Don’t Use Jun ‘19
Histogram problems Apr. ‘20
Home nature projects Jun. ‘23
Hotels with a view Mar. ‘20
Humidity Oct. ‘13
Hummingbird photography Apr. ‘13
Hyperfocal distance Jul. ‘13
Image resizing Aug. ‘18
Implying motion Sept.‘14
Impossible DOF Feb. ‘16
Impossible DOF Jan. ‘17
Indestructible camera bag Dec. ‘14
Infrared photography Jul. ‘14
Insane ISO settings Dec. ‘22
Interiors Oct. ‘15
iPad: Loading photos Aug.‘17
iPhone photography, pros and cons Apr. ‘22
Jungle photography Dec. ‘14
Kaleidoscopic images Jan. ‘15
Kaleidoscopis images Aug. ‘20
Keystoning Nov. ‘23t
Keystoning, correcting Aug. ‘15
L Bracket Feb. ‘18
L Bracket Feb. ‘21
Landscape photography Dec. ‘12
Landscape photography Apr. ‘14
Landscape photography Nov. ‘16
Layer Masks, The Power of Feb. ‘22
Leading Lines Aug. '24
Lessons Learned from Extreme Cold Feb. ‘24
Light fall-off Feb. ‘14
Light painting Dec. ‘21
Lighting a face Oct. ‘13
Lightning photography May ‘20
Liquify Feb. ‘18
Liquify Distortions Sept/Oct. ‘19
Lenses, Essential Aug. ‘23
Long lens portraits Oct. ‘18
Long Lenses for Flowers Jul. ‘20
Low light photography May ‘15
Luminar 4 Jan. ‘20
Macro flash Nov. ‘12
Macro flash Sep. ‘14
Macro flash Aug. ‘15
Macro flash Aug. ‘22
Macro photography and DOF Feb. ‘22
Macro trick May ‘19
Managing soft focus Jul. ‘21
Mannequin heads Apr. ‘16
Metering modes Nov. ‘16
Meters, How They Work Jul. ‘18
Meters, when they fail Dec. ‘16
Metering situations, Impossible Jul. ‘19
Middle gray Nov. ‘15
Milky Way, Shooting thet
Minimizing dust on the sensor Nov. ‘21
Mirrors Jan. ‘19
Mirror images May ‘23
Model shoot Jan. ‘17
Moon glow Oct. ‘16
Mosaics Jun. ‘17
Mundane to Ideal Nov. ‘19
Museum photography Mar. ‘13
Natural Light Portraits Aug. ‘21
Negative space Jan. ‘16
Neon edges on black Aug. ‘14
Optical infinity Jun. ‘16
Subject index for past Photo Insight issues
Neutral Density filters Jun. ‘18
New depth of field preview Mar. ‘24
New shooting style Mar. ‘24
Neutral Density filters and water Mar. ‘22
Night photography Feb. ‘14
Night Safaris Jun. ‘18
Night to Twilight Dec. ‘17
Noise reduction Feb. ‘17
Off-camera flash
Jan. ‘24
Oil and water May ‘20
Organization of photos Mar. ‘18
Out of focus foregrounds Jan. ‘20
Paint abstracts May ‘13
Paint abstracts Aug. ‘21
Painting with light Sep. ‘15
Pan-blurs Sep. '24
Panning motion Dec. ‘16
Pano-Mirrors with a twist Jan. ‘18
Parades Sep. ‘13
Parallelism Nov. ‘19
Parallelism and DOF Feb. ‘21
Perspective, Super Exaggeration of Dec. ‘21
Photo shsaring Apr. ‘23
Photo terms Nov. ‘22
Photographing Christmas Dec. ‘23
Photography to Art Dec. ‘17
Photography solutions Jan. ‘18
Photoshop, content Aware Nov. ‘12
Photoshop, sketch technique Apr. ‘13
Photoshop, replace background Apr. ‘13
Photoshop, actions palette Dec. ‘13
Photoshop, layer masks Feb. ‘13
Photoshop, the clone tool May ‘13
Photoshop, soft foliage Oct. ‘13
Photoshop, mixer brush tool Sept. ‘14
Photoshop, b & w with color Jun. ‘14
Photoshop, drop shadows Jul. ‘14
Photoshop, creating texture Feb. ‘14
Photoshop, face mirrors Feb. ‘14
Photoshop, liquify Mar. ‘14
Photoshop, face mirrors Aug. ‘14
Photoshop, digital spotlight Sep. ‘14
Photoshop, enlarge eyes Nov. ‘14
Photoshop, darken the periphery Dec. ‘14
Photoshop, mirror images Dec. ‘14
Photoshop, beam of light Apr. ‘15
Photoshop, polar coordinates Mar. ‘15
Photoshop, chrome May ‘15
Photoshop, actions palette Nov. ‘15
Photoshop, cut and paste Nov. ‘15
Photoshop, geometrics Oct. ‘15
Photoshop, plugins Oct. ‘15
Photoshop, multiple selections Apr. ‘16
Photoshop, sharpening Apr. ‘16
Photoshop, Flood plugin Apr. ‘16
Photoshop, Desaturation Aug. ‘16
Photoshop, making a composite Aug. ‘16
Photoshop new tool May ‘20
Photoshop, place one element behind Aug. ‘18
Photoshop, the pen tool Feb. ‘16
Photoshop, canvas size Jan. ‘16
Photoshop, using the earth Jun. ‘16
Photoshop, define patterns May ‘16
Photoshop, paste into Nov. ‘16
Photoshop, b & w with color Feb. ‘17
Photoshop, open a closed door Apr. ‘17
Photoshop, palettes May ‘17
Photoshop, My favorite plugins Jan. ‘20
Portrait options Jan. ‘19
Portrait techniques Nov. ‘15
Portraits Mar. ‘13
Portraits, mixed lighting Aug. ‘14
Portrait Professional Nov. ‘19
Portraits, Lens choice Sept/Oct. ‘19
Portraits, side lighting Sep. ‘17
Portraits, window light Mar. ‘15
Portraits, outdoors May ‘17
Post-processing checklist Dec. ‘13
Post-processing: Contrast Aug. ’17
Practicing graphic design, Part I Dec. ‘22
Practicing graphic design, Park II Jan. ‘23
Practicing graphic design, Part III Feb. ‘23
Pre-capturing technology May ‘23
Predictive Focus Sep. ‘18
Problem/solution Apr. ‘17
Problem Solving in Photoshop May ‘22
Problem with cruises Jan. ‘18
Protecting extremeities from the cold Dec. ‘22
Protecting highlights Dec. ‘12
Puppies Jan. ‘15
Puppy photography Feb. ’18
Reflections Feb. ‘13
Reshaping faces Oct. ‘22
Restoring old photos Jun ‘20
Ring flash, advantages Jul. ‘21
Ring flash versatility Oct. ‘21
Rule of Odds May ‘22
S-curves Aug. '24
Safari May ‘13
Safari strategies Jul. ‘15
Seeing as the lens does Nov. ‘14
Seeking Cool Snow Photos Jan. ‘21
Selective filtering Mar. ‘18
Selective focus Jun. ‘15
Self-critiques Jul. ‘13
Self-critiques Oct. ‘13
Self-critiques Nov. ‘20
Sensor cleaning Jun. ‘18
Sepia and dark contrast Jun. ‘15
Sepia, Traditional look of Shade May ‘14
Shady side Jun. ‘18
Shadows define the shot Dec. ‘23
Shadows, Paying Attention to Mar. ‘18
Sharp, 6 reasons why photos are not Apr. ‘24
Sharpness problems Mar. ‘14
Shooting in Inclement Weather Nov. ‘22
Subject index for past Photo Insight issues
Shooting thru glass May ‘24
Shooting through textured glass May ‘23
Shooting through wire mesh Sept. ‘14
Shooting into the light Jun ‘20
Side lighting Jan. ‘24
Silhouettes Jun. ‘13
Silhouettes, How to make Apr. ‘22
Silhouettes, Exposing for Sept/Oct. ‘19
Silvered landscapes Mar. ‘20
Sketch, How to Make Jun ‘19
Skies make or break a picture Aug. ‘21
Sky replacement Nov. ‘20
Sky replacement strategies Aug. ‘22
Snow exposure Nov ‘17
Snow exposure Nov. ‘19
Soap abstracts Aug. ‘23
Soft light Jan. ‘13
Smart phone photography May ‘19
Stained glass Mar. ‘17
Star photography and noise Jan. ‘18
Stock photography Sep. ‘14
Sunrise & sunset Jan. ‘19
Symmetry Aug. '24
Tamron 150-600mm Apr. ‘14
Ten reasons photos are not sharp Jan. ‘19
Texture, Adding Mar ‘19
Texture Mapping in 3D Jul. ‘21
Too much lens Jul. ‘24
Topaz AI Gigapixel Mar ‘19
Topaz glow Jan. ‘15
Topaz glow Sep. ‘17
Topaz Impression Sep. ‘15
Topaz Remask 5 Oct. ‘17
Topaz Simplify 4 Dec. ‘12
Topaz simplify 4 Jun. ‘14
Topaz Studio Apr. ‘18
Total solar eclipse, How to shoot Mar. ‘24
Translucency & backlighting Nov. ‘18
Travel photography Feb. ‘ 13
Travel portraits Mar. ‘14
Travel tips Apr. ‘14
Travel photographer’s guide Jun. ‘17
Tripods, not allowed Jun. ‘24
Tweaking exposure on the fly Apr. ‘23
Twilight photography in the rain Apr. ‘19
Twilight, Creating Oct. ‘23
Tripods Mar. ‘18
Two subject sharp rule May ‘14
Two subject focus rule Jan. ‘20
Two subject focus rule Jun. ‘21
Urban heights Jun. ‘21
Ultra distortion May ‘18
Unusual Panos Nov. ‘22
Upside Down Reflections Aug. ‘21
Quiz answers
1. d 2. a 3. d 4. a 5. c 6. a 7. d 8. a 9. b
Your score 90% - 100%: You could have been a pro 80% - 89%: Your glasses probably need a new prescription 70% - 79%: Just don’t quit your day job < 70%: You should really be using an iPhone
Subject index for past Photo Insight issues
Warm fingers in winter
Water drop collisions
Nov. ‘15
May ‘18
What NOT to do in photography Apr. ‘18
When You Needed a Zoom
White on White
Aug. ‘21
Dec. ‘20
White on White Nov. ‘23
White vignette Aug. ‘15
White balance Feb. ‘15
White balance, custom Mar. ‘16
White balance, What Jun. ‘23
Wide angle conundrum May ‘19
Wide angle distortion, correcting May ‘24
Wide angle lenses
Mar. ‘13
Wide angle portraits Nov. ‘14
Wide angle lenses
Jun. ‘17
Wide angle lenses: Outside the Box Jun. ‘22w
Wide angle keystoning Nov ‘17
Wildlife photos with wide angles Mar. ‘15
Window light Dec. ‘15
Window light portraits Aug. ‘18
Window light portraits Feb. ‘24
Window frames Feb. ‘16
Winter photography Dec. ‘12
Winter bones May ‘13
Winter photography Dec. ‘15
Winter photography Nov. ‘18
Wire Mesh, Shooting Through Jul. ‘18
Workflow
May ‘13
Moore
A 5-year old girl participating in the Jember Fashion Carnival, East Java, Indonesia.
