I’ve started work on a portrait project which is, let’s just say not insignificant, in its scope… because if I think about it too much, I realise it’s quite the crazy undertaking! So, while I was planning this out, I had to think about how my workflow might work. How do I make things as easy on myself as possible and keep the creativity as the priority, keeping the “how” out of the way as much as I can. I played with a few tools for a while and have now settled on Aperty. Before I get into that here’s a quick look at it:
That image in the interface, pretty great end result from minimal time. It was clear to me from early on in the testing that my normal tools, like Lightroom and Luminar, which I use A LOT, offer great processing but Aperty and its focus on portraits, offers a slicker workflow and quicker almost one click solutions.
Above you’ll see exactly what I mean. On the left, a before, right is the after. 2 button clicks to apply some sympathetic tweaks to the image. Areas to pay particular attention to are the bridge of the nose, forehead and right of the eye. In some cases, the wrinkles disappear, in others the harshness (which was partially due to the environment) is reduced.
Now, don’t get me wrong… if transforming your models into smooth skinned alienlike creatures is your style, that’s possible too… but for more terrestrial based portraits, the tweaks applied by Aperty in just a few clicks feel appropriate, never overdone. Above, that’s the blemish and skin smoothing sliders at work.
This being Skylum there are of course some fun additions to the normal options available too. You can for example have the software add some eyeliner to your model, or tweak their iris color as just two examples but that’s something for another day.
For now, what I see from Aperty is a great tool for anyone working on people pictures. The tools flow in a really nice, logical way for a processing work and a lot of the clutter you’d find in more general processing applications doesn’t feature here. Yet you can still do great environmental portraits too, which is what I think I’ll leave you with today… oh, and one more thing. You can grab Aperty for a 50% discount here, plus a bonus month on the subscription and a bunch of extras. Have fun!
Welcome to the Light Stalking weekly community wrap-up!
If you’ve been following these words for the last couple of weeks, you might have noticed the strong duality between light and time when attempting to capture the essence of movement. Curiously enough, the upcoming set, which always matches our current contests, spins around another classic of photographic practice; storytelling in a single frame!
But what makes such storytelling differ from the regular one? Personally, I see storytelling as the attempt of transmitting a broad story with the aid of visual and written information. However, when thinking about a single frame —capable of telling a story all by itself— things tricky quite fast.
However, I’ve witnessed a tendency towards thinking that these sorts of images are products of a single serendipitous shot. And to be honest, I blame this a bit on all the hype surrounding the oddly translated title from HCB‘s famous book “The Decisive Moment”. Originally titled in French as Images à la sauvette, which most closely translates to “images on the sly” or “hastily taken images”, this book has sort of aided the false belief that great photographs are those perfectly captured just once on silicon or film.
This way of thinking builds up the idea that if you don’t capture something perfectly on camera, you are doing it wrong. Or at least I thought of great iconic photographs as that, until I had the life-changing opportunity of coming across contact sheets; that’s when I knew we only get to see the decisive shot from the perspective of the editing board, not the author of the frame.
For today’s wrap-up, we’ve picked a fine selection of single storytelling frames shared on this week’s challenge. So, without more horsing around, let’s dive into what our talented community shared with us!
Photo of the Week
And speaking of sly, if you ever feel the need of illustrating how technology blends with photographic skills to capture sharp images on the run, this one can do a great job! Nocturnal street imagery, is both gorgeous and challenging; and of course, is better enjoyed with fast tools like the ones used on this magnificent — and full manual capture at ISO 1250, 1/400s, ƒ3.5:
copyright – davidc
A day in sales!
Congrats David, the light on this shot is just exquisite and the notorious expression of the subject makes it unique; thanks for sharing such a high quality photograph with us!
Weekly Photography Challenge Digest
Thanks again to Diane and Dahlia for pushing our creative boundaries one step forward every week!
copyright – Robert Applecopyright – Michaelcopyright – Wendy Pcopyright – Pat Garrettcopyright – Pat Garrettcopyright – davidccopyright – Timothy S. Allencopyright – Wendy Pcopyright – Patrickcopyright – Patrickcopyright – Patrickcopyright – Frogdailycopyright – Robert Applecopyright – Tershacopyright – Tersha
To contribute, check out the original challenge post!
A Highlight on the Latest Activity at our Community
Rob shared this fantastic non-ai generated image, ergo a stunning photograph!
copyright – Rob Eyers
Patrick shared this simple yet effective example of some basic composition understanding:
copyright – Patrick
Diane shared a familiar phenomena to all of us light stalkers:
copyright – Tersha
Last but not least, Patrick sends us all some nice good vibes
copyright – Patrick
Don’t forget to check the photo contest winners for the Essence of Movement; and remember, this month’s photo contest is now open for entries. The theme revolves on “Storytelling in a Single Frame“. Submit your photos for a chance to win $250, and please don’t forget voting as well. Last but not least, keep an eye out for the Members Picks — the instructions are pretty straightforward:
Members reference what you might consider a five-star photo. Give a call out to the photographer and share their photo even if it lies in the Shark Tank and feel free to give a Critique on why it trips your Trigger. Be sure to mention the photographer and the Thread you saw it in.
And if you want to make out the most of your LightStalking user account, make sure to check the latest posts. Also, don’t forget to swim the Mobile Monday Challenge! Last but not least, Check out the current reading throwdown, it has some nice insights and recommendations!
We’d Love To Hear Your Thoughts
Our Feedback Forum is a fine place for all those people wanting to grow fast as photographers. Here, you’ll get your work reviewed by well-intended photographers, but you’ll also have the chance to comment on the work of others. We believe in the power of feedback, and here are the latest shots shared in the pool:
The Shark Tank is a great place to learn and to discuss, but please read the instructions in order to get a better experience. Share your comments, opinions and doubts on any or all of the images above. We will also be delighted to see some of your own images. Remember, all comments are given to the photographs; not the photographers. Also, don’t forget to participate in our upcoming challenge!
