Chromatic Aberration

A Quick Guide to Chromatic Aberration

Posted Leave a commentPosted in Design, Photography, Web
Chromatic Aberration
Chromatic aberration in the lens. Macro, high ISO

As you continue to learn about photography and improve your skills, you’ll come across some strange phenomena in your pictures. Overly exposed or saturated images are common issues, but a less well-understood optical problem is chromatic aberration.

In this article we’ll explain what chromatic aberration is, how to avoid it, and how to deliberately create chromatic aberration in your pictures.

What is Chromatic Aberration?

Also known as ‘color fringing’ or ‘purple fringing,’ chromatic aberration definition is an optical error that occurs within the lens of a camera. Chromatic aberration happens when the camera lens and sensor are unable to accurately convert each wavelength of color to the same focal plane.

Chromatic aberration is essentially a distortion that is caused by lens dispersion. Different wavelengths of color pass through the lens, reaching the sensor at different speeds and intensities. 

The effect of chromatic aberration is an image with blurred, soft objects due to color and/or purple fringing around subjects.

Chromatic Aberration

There are two forms of chromatic aberration; Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration & Lateral Chromatic Aberration.

Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration is sometimes referred to as ‘axial chromatic aberration’ and, if present, happens across an entire image. It occurs when the wavelengths of color lie at disparate points along the longitudinal optical axis.

Lateral Chromatic Aberration, if present, is visible towards the edges of an image, but not towards the center mass. Lateral chromatic aberration occurs when colors are not placed along the same optical axis by the lens. It’s lateral chromatic aberration that causes color fringing or purple fringing around objects.

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Avoiding Chromatic Aberration

Chromatic aberration makes many photographers, especially those who are not professionals, feel powerless when it comes to avoiding chromatic aberration. It’s important to note that color issues can happen in different lighting conditions and focal ranges, no matter how expensive or engineered a lens is.

There are, however, a number of ways you can attempt to avoid chromatic aberration. It’s also relatively simple to edit out chromatic aberration in image editing programs like Lightroom.

Here are some simple tips to avoid chromatic aberration. 

When shooting photos:

  • Invest in High-Quality Lenses

One of the most practical steps to take, if you have the financial means, is to invest in high-quality lenses for your camera. The best lenses on the market are designed to reduce disparities in the processing of wavelengths of color. 

Lenses with low-dispersion capabilities are designed specifically for reducing purple or color fringing. 

  • Keep The Subject in The Center 

We learned earlier that lateral chromatic aberration affects the edges of images, therefore, placing your subject as close to the center as possible will reduce the negative impact of lateral chromatic aberration. 

  • Increase The Camera’s Aperture Settings

Increasing the aperture value on your camera is known as ‘stopping down’ the lens aperture. Faster aperture lenses often struggle with longitudinal, or axial chromatic aberration. Therefore, ‘stopping down’ your aperture can help. 

Increasing the f-number/aperture can significantly reduce the chances of color fringing around objects in your photos. 

  • Avoid High Contrast Situations

High contrast scenes or shots where the tonal contrast is off can result in extreme color fringing. Think about the contrast of materials (plastics), surfaces (water), textures (landscapes), and lighting situations, because clashing can result in both forms of chromatic aberration.

Post-production: 

If you notice chromatic aberration in your photos, you can solve the issue in post-production;

  • Removing Chromatic Aberration Using a Photo-Editor

As long as you’ve taken your photos in RAW format, you’ll be able to effectively edit images on your computer. 

If you want to experiment with editing, it’s best to use high resolution stock photos, as well as various photo-editing apps and programs. 

In Lightroom, for example, there are useful tools for removing chromatic aberration. In the Develop menu, select Lens Corrections and then hit the Remove Chromatic Aberration button.

It’s also possible to remove chromatic aberration manually. Refer to your photo-editing program’s support guides.

Creating a Chromatic Aberration Effect

Now, there are some artists who use the chromatic aberration effect to draw attention, or aid in creating a certain theme or visual aesthetic. Movie directors will often employ chromatic aberration in order to make an object appear hyper-realistic. 

Just as it’s possible to remove chromatic aberration and color fringing, you can use video or photo editing programs to add it. Some popular apps have even added filters that create a chromatic aberration effect. 

Adding chromatic aberration that looks appealing is about matching the colors you’d like to use. In some images, green and blue will work, whilst in others, it might make sense to distort other color pairings.

For in-depth guides on adding chromatic aberration to an image, check out the Depositphotos guide to chromatic aberration.

Summing Up: Chromatic Aberration

There are ways to avoid chromatic aberration, including selecting great lenses, adjusting camera settings, and avoiding extremes in contrast. The ability to edit and remove chromatic aberration in post-production allows photographers to shoot freely and worry about optical defects at a later time. 

If you like the effect, why not experiment by creating a chromatic aberration effect on some of your futuristic-looking photos?

Creative Idea Stock Image

5+ Creative Ideas Using Stock Images for Your Marketing

Posted Leave a commentPosted in Design, Photography, Web
Creative Idea Stock Image

As we dot our i’s and cross our t’s for the end of 2019, it’s a good time to start thinking about the new year 2020. What we can prepare for better marketing efforts in the new coming decade. Surely your business isn’t this far into December without some kind of 2020 marketing strategy started, but let’s dive into it a little more in stock images.

Stock Images as Visual Communications

The importance of visual communications, especially photo & video used in marketing strategy are undeniably will help to boost the campaigns. Whatever type of marketing strategy campaigns you will use in 2020, email newsletters, social medias, web contents, or anything else, Stock Images are among the biggest player. Companies like iStock by Getty Images is one of the must listed site to shop for stock images.

This world’s leading royalty free stock content marketplace, iStock by Getty Images offer oceans of carefully selected premium contents.

You just name it, they got it.. images, vector illustrations & videos.

Yes, they offer all contents category in one place:

In fact, they also provide useful tools and smart plugins to smooths your work tasks, such as Adobe CC plugins, just to name one.

With that said, here are 5 tips to using iStock and their collection of stock images in the upcoming year 2020 and the new decade.

January Idea

Since this month has probably already been taken care of before the holidays, use iStock’s Boards to help manage the upcoming months. Simply create a board to save any content that you might have found and are not ready to use yet. Way better than bookmarking or write down the images you’ve come across during other projects. So, when the time is right, you already have the options to start with.

Hey remember, January 25th is a big celebration for our Chinese friends. Spruce up your website or create a gift guide for the Chinese New Year images holiday.

Related article: 15 Best Free Online Photo Editor

March Ideas

Be prepare for the International Women’s Day 2020 graphic contents in 8 March. Be unique for this month to get attention for ladies with visually appealing marketing. Also there will be Earth Hour 2020 on 28 March, so you may have some ideas to be different from your common strategy. Save time and use a pre-made sale template that fits the theme and designed to make them click through.

April Idea

Taxes. Make this time a little more fun for people and throw a Refund Sale to get rid of the stress.

May Idea

Fills your May marketing strategy with heart touching content is another good way to try out. Honor mothers around the world or your target markets with special stories, promotions, or gift guides for Mother’s Day and make them extra special with heartwarming images.

June Ideas

Summer vacation planning is usually in full swing by now since school is out and people are wanting to enjoy the warmer weather. Offer up some destination ideas with amazing places photos from actual places to visit.

Within half a year, you’ll get use with iStock and more familiar with the way iStock has to offer. Therefore, check out their plug-ins and see how to streamline and simplify your projects even more with your working apps.

Now you have all the tools and confidence you need for a successful 2020, head over to iStock and browse their flexible pricing plans & low cost credit packages. You’ll be surprised how much you need can be found in one place!

Travel Photographer

Easy Steps To Take Shots Like A Travel Photographer

Posted Leave a commentPosted in Photography

Travel Photographer

Photographing your travels can be quite challenging and yet, easy. This is very true, especially if you want to produce stunning and great photos. Many travelers have already attested these notions.

With the presence of social media and technology, taking good shots of your travels have become a standard already. While it’s fun and enticing, others find it difficult to produce great shots. Even so, there are now simple and practical ways that can help you, if in case you are having the same concern.

For instance, you are traveling to Zimbabwe to witness the prominent Victoria Falls. Apparently, not everyone has been to this place. Hence, capturing the beauty of the destination is just fitting and suitable. But, you know you are not a professional to fully seize the real beauty of the place. So, what are you going to do then?

Take Shots Like A Pro

Some people would say that this is easy. You would only need a good digital camera, a travel location, and a creative mind. While this may seem all true, there are still a few challenges along the way. But, learning the basics and foundation will help.

Here are some of the easiest yet most effective travel photography tips today:

  • Practice Before Traveling

One of the most important points that you have to consider is your knowledge and skill in photography. Sure, you’ve taken a few decent shots on your smartphone. But, how well do you know your skills?

You may want to start understanding first the theories and technicalities of photography. Although it is not necessary for you to dive in to the details, the basics will do. Next, get to know your camera very well. Then, practice and apply what you’ve learned.

  • Define Your Aims and Goals

Some of the things that you must pay attention to are your aims and goals. Why do you want to take good shots in the first place? The answer will definitely vary. But even so, this will help you understand your goals in producing better output.

Once you’ve comprehended your interests, then things will surely be much clearer for you, in terms of your niche, destinations, and supposed output.



Do you want to take good photos to share the beauty of the world to the world? Are you doing this for yourself? Do you intend to pursue this as your full-time career?

Questions like these will help you streamline your real goals.

  • Find Your Niche

If you’ve cleared your goals out with yourself, finding your niche is pretty easy. Typically, there five common niches:

    • Architecture and Landmarks
    • People
    • Food and Culture
    • City and Street
    • Wildlife

Of course, you can expand your interests by choosing various niches. But if you are just starting yet, you must try to focus on one or two subjects first before expanding.

  • Research Your Destinations

Picking and knowing your niche will help you in choosing your subjects. Accordingly, picking the next destination will be much easier for you. While some areas are basically known for something common, for instance, Africa is a great location for wildlife photography, there are still a lot of regions and locations that offer hidden gems which can be great subjects for your travel photography.

Therefore, it is best if you research first with your chosen destination. But for a quick guide, here are some locations in different parts of the globe, along with the type of photography that is best for them:

    • Thailand and India (other Asian countries) – ideal locations for people, street, and culture photography
    • Italy and France – ideal locations for food and wine, city, and landmarks photography
    • United Arab Emirates and other Middle East countries – ideal locations for architecture, landmarks, and city photography
  • Learn To Edit And Enhance Photos

While some travel destinations are more appropriate for raw photos and captures, there are those settings, places, and subjects that may require a little tweaking and editing at the end. So, in order to make photos much more stunning and appealing, editing photos with the use photoshopping and editing apps will largely help.

Related article: 15 Best Free Online Photo Editor

Keep in mind that you don’t need to be an expert in editing or photoshopping. A simple and basic knowledge of the tools will already do. Sometimes, a little enhancement in hues and perspectives will already seal the whole deal. Hence, it is a must that you get started with these skills if you really want to produce great shots on your next travels.

Final Thoughts

By and large, taking great and amazing photos during travels is relatively challenging. Yet, this is also rewarding, especially if you’ve mastered the craft in totality. But if in case you are still in the process of learning and practicing the art of photography, these points and tips will help you clear things out. And surely, applying them by heart will help you in every journey in the future.

You may also try seeking expert’s advice and recommendations. There are cases that you’ll find the similar tips. Even so, you will still get to learn if you just take time to listen, understand, and practice.

 

6 Photography Businesses Freelancers Can Take Part In

Posted Leave a commentPosted in Photography, Web

Getting started as a freelancer can be a daunting experience. In many fields, it can be hard to know just where to begin and which jobs to pursue. You might find yourself struggling to choose between jobs that will improve your name recognition and other options that will best keep the bills paid. This can be particularly true in a field such as photography, which is largely considered to be one of the most competitive freelance markets out there. If you’re feeling confused with no idea where to start, here are six photography businesses that are freelance-friendly.

1. Photojournalism

Photo by Alif Ngoylung on Unsplash

While it’s certainly important to visit freelance job boards regularly and often, it can be just as important to build lasting relationships with clients and partners that you may already know. This can be especially true in the field of photojournalism, where you’ll largely be supporting writers and reporters on newsworthy events. Photos are now and always will be necessary in terms of hard-hitting journalism. If you build meaningful and lasting relationships with freelance writers and reporters, you’ll likely never find yourself without work.

2. Portraits

Photography Studio for Portraits
Photo by Alexander Dummer

Portrait photography can be one of the most trying endeavors in which to build up a consistent and reliable client base, and you might find yourself working pro-bono for longer than you would like. The flip side of this is that once you have established yourself, it is probably the most reliable method by which you can sustain yourself as a freelancer indefinitely, eventually going through all of the steps to turn the work into your own business.

When it comes to taking portraits, relationships are absolutely key. It is important to consider the location in which you will primarily be operating. Since portraits are often taken to commemorate life events, it is important to advertise yourselves to clients with children or other family members in formative years, as a huge percent of portraits are taken for events in education. It is also important to make sure you are operating with proper photo and lighting equipment. In a day and age where some of the world’s most powerful digital photography software is built into everyone’s smartphone, you must be able to give the client something that they cannot get themselves. Proper lighting is important for this.

3. Tech + Camera Maintenance

Camera Parts and Repair
Photo by Shane Aldendorff

Much as the aspiring musician may find themselves in an instrument shop, the freelance photographer could definitely earn some money on the side by working in a camera repair or maintenance shop. While this no doubt will sound like a drag compared to other freelance work that could expand your portfolio, it certainly is not a dead-end line of work. Operating in environments such as these can be crucial to your understanding of the bare bones of how all equipment, both modern and antique, function. Though you won’t find a great deal of filler for your resume, you will be granted an extended vocabulary and knowledge that can only be obtained by hands-on experience.

4. Event Photography

Wedding Event Photography at Night
Photo by Andreas Rønningen

This is the big one. Usually, when people set their mind to freelance photography, they set it to event photography. And when they set their mind to event photography, they get very preoccupied with weddings. While weddings are certainly one of the biggest draws for event photographers, there are scores of opportunities for the event photographer willing to think outside of the box. One of the ways you can do this is by coordinating with an event to set up a photo booth. Photo booths have risen to prominence as a way to get event-goers to participate in recording memories and will put you in the spotlight as a skilled photographer even more so than the classic, fly-on-the-wall style of event photography. Plus, while they’re extremely popular for weddings, they’re popping up at all kinds of marketing events, award shows, birthday parties and more.

5. Location Photography

Fashion Model Warehouse Photoshoot
Photo by Gerardo Marrufo

There’s no shortage of models, bands, or even business groups who want a special sort of “photoshoot” to really showcase who they are. This will likely be some of the most demanding work in which you participate, going from location to location just to line up the perfect shot. Similar to being a graphic editor for brands, clients in this field will be very demanding of your time and your patience, but this will be an area where you can make some of the strongest pieces to add to your portfolio, showcasing your value as a photographer.

6. Tutoring

Black Cameras
Photo by Luca Bravo

If the rise of social media has taught us anything, it’s that there is absolutely no shortage of young people that aspire to a certain degree of skill in the field of photography. While some of this work will no doubt be on the more meager side of your earning pool, there is still a great deal of job satisfaction that comes with passing on the skill of photography to a new generation. You will always be able to find work tutoring and mentoring new photographers, and may even make new connections for work along the way.

Free Stock Photo

Free Stock Photo Sites For Designers

Posted 5 CommentsPosted in Design, Photography, Photoshop, Web

Previously we published Free Designer Tools Online – Website Builder for designer, freelancer, photographer, etc. Today we continue the same topic, designers online freebies, but now specifically for Free Stock Photo Sites For Designers shared by photographers, designers & artists. They’re free to use personally and commercially, so far there are no restrictions, except the copyright used are under creative commons. You might also try reverse image search if you have the sample image and need to find the better copy.

13 Free Stock Photo Sites for Designers

Okay here are some rare photographer’s Stock Photo sites who share quite high quality, creative images and best of all, no copyright restriction as others. What they only ask from you as to support their efforts, if you don’t mind is to provide an attribution for the image you use. Come on lets support them as alternative Free Stock Photo Sites For Designers by share their sites, Like their fb pages, Retweet their tweets, ♥ their Insta, etc.

1. FancyCrave

fancycrave.com

2. Depositphotos

depositphotos stock photography

depositphotos.com

3. Pexels

www.pexels.com

4. Death To The Stock Photo

deathtothestockphoto.com

5. Little Visuals

littlevisuals.co

6. Life of Pix

www.lifeofpix.com

7. StockSnap

www.stocksnap.io

8. Unsplash

www.unsplash.com

9. Pic Jumbo

picjumbo.com

10. Gratisography

www.gratisography.com

11. SplitShire

www.splitshire.com

12. Startup Stock Photos

startupstockphotos.com

13. FreeImages

www.freeimages.com

14. FreeImages UK


www.freeimages.co.uk

update..

50+ More Free Stock Photo Sites

  1. All Free Download

    one of the most popular free stock images - background, wallpaper, vector graphic as well
    ..

  2. Magdeleine

    another free stock photo website
    ..

  3. pixabay

    site in Portuguese, need to register to download the photos
    ..

  4. 9 × 13 glänzend

    photos with Creative Commons license that can be used for any purpose
    ..

  5. Bajstock

    great gallery with thousands of free images
    ..

  6. ARS

    high resolution images gallery and public domain
    ..

  7. The Digital Dreamer

    over 1000 images 100% free
    ..

  8. IM Creator

    collection of free (images for) web design resources, all for commercial use, yeay! :)
    ..

  9. Amygdela's atmosphere

    picture gallery with free pictures
    ..

  10. tinypic

    though they give tiny & low quality images, they have many categories and have gif images too

  11. openphoto.net - photos for artists, developers, teachers and students
  12. stockvault.net - community with more than 3,000 shared photos. Does not allow commercial use
  13. unprofound.com - free photos for any use except redistribution.
  14. FreeFoto - more than 100,000 free images. It is necessary to give assignments to the author.
  15. Big Picture - free photo gallery for any type of use
  16. stockfreeimages.com - more than 1 million photos and illustrations free.
  17. rgbstock.com - one of the best free high quality sites.
  18. photl.com - 10Mb limit per day
  19. freephotosbank.com - photos and images provided by various photographers.
  20. imageafter.com - free images, but with a lot of advertising for paid pictures
  21. freerangestock.com - community for photographers registration required
  22. freedigitalphotos.net - only images with lower resolution are free
  23. morguefile.com - community that allows commercial use of some pictures.
  24. Dns Digital Photography - stock of free images. Requires Registration.
  25. dreamstime.com - free and paid images.
  26. public-domain-photos.com - public domain photos that allows commercial use
  27. Public Domain Stock Photos - Free photos of public domain
  28. cepolina.com - hosts more than 20,000 photos in various categories.
  29. facegfx.com - images, graphics, vectors, icons, templates, PSD files, etc.
  30. photorack.net - free images for download in several categories
  31. photogen.com - allows commercial use and does not require registration
  32. toasto.com - photos of just a photographer
  33. unsplash.com - small amount of high-quality images
  34. littlevisuals.co - small amount of high-quality images
  35. stockarch.com - allows commercial use - high quality images
  36. stockmedia.cc - allows commercial use - high quality images - requires registration
  37. freephotobank.org - allows commercial use
  38. Fotobank - Image bank with paid and free photos.
  39. alegriphotos.com - allows commercial use - high resolution images
  40. bigstockphoto.com - Free photo gallery of medium resolution - allows commercial use - good for blogs.
  41. hooverstock.com - various types of free images
  42. turbophoto.com - over 2000 free high quality images.
  43. pdphoto.org - database of public domain images
  44. pixelgalerie.com - small bank of high-quality images
  45. aarinfreephoto.com - small bench Free images
  46. imagebase.net - great free images in 6 categories
  47. freewebphoto.com - great photos in medium resolution in the free version
  48. abstractinfluence.com - hundreds of free photos in various categories
  49. sunipix.com - more than 15,000 images for personal or commercial use
  50. Burning Well - small photo gallery of high resolution
  51. Studio25 - stock of free images. See the usage restrictions available for each photo
  52. Twice Pix - photos with Creative Commons BY-SA
  53. Yellowstone Digital Slide File

Conclusion on Free Stock Photo Sites

There are many more free stock photo sites for designers we can search out there, I believe new stock photo sites may appear every years, numbers of people sharing freebies increased of the decades, so do with photographers. Or if you are a photographer, mind share with us your photo site..? If you find some other good Free Stock Photo sites, please share with us :)