Photoshop is a wonderful tool to use once you are comfortable with digital photography. This tutorial will show you how to use Camera RAW to apply adjustments and enhancements to your photos. You will learn how to work with tone, colour balance, and understand what the main sliders do. Please note, that in order to achieve the best results in Camera RAW, you should work with a RAW file, not a JPEG.

Here is our starting image, shot on a weekend trip to Quebec City during the summer of 2020.

Change the image to black and white with the B&W button. This is not necessary, but it helps to see what is happening with the tones in the image without the distraction of colour.

Start with the Exposure to adjust the overall brightness. Then use the Shadow and Highlight sliders to recover details lost in the shadows and highlights. By moving the Shadow slider to the right, the shadows aren't as dark. Opposite for the Highlights, move the slider to the left, and the highlights aren't so bright. This allows us to see more details.

Click on B&W once again to bring the colour back. There is a noticeable difference already. Because we worked in black and white, we may need to adjust the Shadows and Highlights slightly to bring it to what we are looking for.

Now, perhaps there are some white areas that are a bit dull or overly bright. We can use the Whites slider to fix this. If you bring the slider to the left, you will lower the white point, and to the right would raise the white point. The same thing applies to the Blacks slider.

We've worked on the basic tone, now we will adjust the Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze. These sliders are the Presence sliders. Because it was a darker photo originally, there is a bit of graininess now that we have brought it back to brightness. We will tone this down slightly by adjusting the Texture to -5. To compensate this, increase the Clarity to add edge definition to avoid losing too much detail. Finally in this section, bump up the Dehaze slightly to increase contrast within the photo.

I usually do not touch Hue, unless my image is shifting slightly in a different colour tone than I would like, so I begin with Saturation. I start focussing on the areas I want to stand out: the umbrellas, the trees scattered around, the purple flowers on the windowsill. That means increasing the blues, greens, and purples as necessary. Then adjust those elements that I want to blend into the background, such as the orange/yellow hue from inside the cafe, coming through the windows. This means decreasing the oranges and yellows. I also decreased the aquas, as once I brought up the blues, the logo on the umbrellas was too prominent for my liking.

Then we work with the Luminance. As mentioned, luminance is the brightness within a colour. In this case, I wanted to slightly the reds throughout the image (mainly to brighten the faces of my subjects), increase the aquas and blues (brighten the umbrellas), and brighten the purples (brighten the flowers).

 

And voila! Here is the finished image. There are a few little things that I would edit out in Photoshop, but that's a tutorial for another time. Stay tuned!

Happy editing! 

 

It's a difficult task. You just want them to sit still, they keep moving around, and everything except their face is sharp. But you can't be mad a them because they're just so darn cute. If you're a pet owner, you know what I'm talking about.

Taking photos of animals can be tricky, but it's a good way to get some training in. When taking pet portraits, you need to know what will catch his attention? What will make her sit still? How can you capture her at her most content? These questions can apply to humans as well, especially children. If you're taking photos of your own pets, you can judge these things on your own. If you're photographing a client's pets, it can be trickier. Try to talk with the client ahead of time to understand what kind of temperament you will be working with. Maybe their dog is afraid of the camera flash? You will need to know this knowledge in advance to prepare accordingly. 

What do animals and sports have in common? They require a fast shutter speed. By using a shutter speed of 1/250 s or faster, you will will have more success of capturing a clear photo. Some of the best pet photographs are dogs in their natural habitat, doing what they do best: playing. Try photographing a dog as he jumps to catch a ball, or a cat playing with a mouse toy. These will show the expression in their eyes.

Speaking of eyes, get to the animal's eye level when shooting photographs. This creates a more personal touch in the image, and brings out personality. Natural lighting is also a preferred option to shoot pets in. As mentioned before, maybe you're working with an animal that is afraid of the camera flash; natural light eliminates that worry. It's also the easiest lighting option to work with. Selecting an environment beside a glass door or window that's not directly facing the sun will work best. Natural lighting from windows creates a softer light, that doesn't create harshness on the subject.

Finally, be patient. Much like taking photos of children, your pet subject may be cranky or sleepy. Unless you want to capture these expressions, it's best to wait until the moment is right. Don't stress your pet if they just woke up, finished eating, or just generally want to be left alone. A helpful tip when the time is right, is to use treats and toys. Maybe your cat won't look towards the camera, but a food bribe will catch their attention. Of course, if these pets are not your own, always check with the client for permission before offering treats.