Hi!

I hope you’re having a wonderful end to 2023! 

Here in Michigan, we received another batch of snow (though before I got a chance to get out with my camera and photograph, it melted!).

Last week, I edited two images sent in by dPS community members while explaining my approach to post-processing, and I received lots of positive feedback, so thank you! 

And since the feedback was so positive, that’s a newsletter segment that I plan to continue in the future (possibly in video form, though I’m still working out the details); in the meantime, if you have any images you’d like to see edited, don’t hesitate to hit Reply to this message and send them along.

In today’s newsletter, I discuss:

• The new dPS Bi-Weekly Challenge
• The best last-minute gifts for photographers (or yourself!)
• Three more image critiques
• A question for you to answer about your photography

So without further ado, let’s dive right in, starting with:

The dPS Bi-Weekly Photo Challenge: Christmas

From Sime: 

So, this is Christmas... (And I wasn't even listening to John Lennon!)

Naturally we'll try 'Christmas' as a theme for the next couple of weeks, that said, Christmas is something different, or even nothing at all to some people, so for those that don't want to participate in this theme, we welcome you to share a photograph that means something to you. 

Make sure you include the hashtags #dPSWeeklyChallenge and #dPSGardens in your post, in the comments of our official weekly challenge page, or over on social media. You can tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!

And you can also share your image(s) in the dPS Facebook group!

The best last-minute gifts for photographers

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve sent out a few emails about the dPS holiday gift guide, which you can still access here, and which is packed full of gifts that are perfect for pretty much any photographer. 

Of course, Christmas is almost here, but if you haven’t yet made your final gift purchases, or if you’re looking for a last-minute treat for yourself, there’s still time - especially since plenty of great gifts on the list are instantly downloadable! 

A few quick highlights:

1.  dPS’s Living Landscapes eBook, which costs under $20 and contains everything you need to start capturing gorgeous landscape shots, including gear recommendations, camera settings advice, lighting techniques, and so much more!
2. Create Stunning Photos in Lightroom, a post-processing video course that was created by dPS in collaboration with the (amazing!) photography educator Jim Hamel. Create Stunning Photos is perfect for beginners looking to delve into Lightroom editing for the first time, as well as more experienced editors who want to enhance their post-processing workflow.
3. The Photzy Action Cards, which condense hundreds of photography skills into a set of 65 engaging cards. They’re designed to be printed, laminated, and taken into the field so you can learn while doing what you love - and they’re still 88% off!

Critiquing your photos 

Today, we have a few more wonderful images to critique, all sent in by members of the dPS community!

First, a stunning landscape photo captured by Jim E:

I’m loving the expansive view and the gorgeous fall colors here, Jim; what a beautiful scene, and those sky reflections in the water are absolutely magnificent. I also like your decision to include leading lines in the foreground (the land jutting out into the river, as well as those beautiful little islands on the left-hand side); they do a great job of pulling the viewer into the frame.

I also appreciate you including a sliver of the distant horizon, which helps add depth, plus it contributes to the beautiful layering effect. (No, it doesn’t follow the rule of thirds, but in this case, I don’t think it needs to!)

A couple of ideas for improvement:

1. I’m noticing that the image has a slight blue color cast, at least on my monitor; I’d therefore recommend making a (very quick!) white balance adjustment in a program such as Lightroom to warm up the shot and give it a neutral (or even warmish) look. (While you’re at it, I’d also recommend trying to recover some detail in the sky, which is a touch overexposed, especially on the left-hand side.)
2. While I think the shot looks great as-is, the sun seems blocked by clouds, and as a result, there’s not a whole lot of drama across the landscape. If you wanted to add more flair, I’d recommend photographing on a partly cloudy morning or evening - so that the sun illuminates portions of the landscape while letting other parts fall into shadow. You’ll get warm light, you’ll get a great sky, plus you’ll get a greater sense of depth across the forest!

Thanks for sending in such a beautiful image, Jim! Next, we have a beautiful flower still life from Liam B:

As I’ve mentioned previously, I love to photograph flowers, and I really appreciate what you’ve done here, Liam. I like how you’ve included a clear focal point (the center flower), and you’ve also done a nice job of maintaining details in both the brighter and darker parts of the scene. I also like the softer light (possibly from a window?), which helps bring out the colors and reduce harsh contrasts.

A few suggestions:

First, while I like how you’ve zoomed in to emphasize the main flower, I’d actually encourage you to take this even farther - some of the other flowers are a little distracting to my eye. 

When I do flower photography, I often like to fill the frame completely to block out all distractions and really hone in on the beautiful petals and colors. To do this, you’ll often need to push your gear to the max (and you may even need to switch over to your lens’s manual focus setting so you can effectively control the focus point). A lot of lenses can focus closer than you might think, but if you can’t get as close as you’d like, you might consider grabbing a set of close-up filters or even a dedicated macro lens; that way, you can capture sharp photos while eliminating all distractions. 

On the other hand, you might wish to show the central flower in relation to the other flowers, in which case I’d encourage you to zoom out a bit and/or play with your angle. By moving slightly to the right, for instance, you can eliminate the overlap between the yellow flowers in the background and the central flower, which will in turn make all the flowers a key part of the composition. 

Second, I’m noticing some small imperfections - browning petals, maybe a few dirt spots - on the two flowers in the foreground. In general, I encourage photographers to look for flowers in peak condition (though there are some exceptions, such as when the goal is to show a wilting flower!). If you can’t find flowers that are in top-notch condition, you can do a bit of gentle cleaning (e.g., you can often brush away dirt), and you can also do a bit of retouching after the fact with a clone or heal tool. 

But like I said, it’s still a lovely shot, and thanks so much for sending it along!

Third, we have an excellent bird photo from Eric VH:

There’s a lot to love about this one, Eric: the beautiful shallow depth of field effect, with the sharp bird and the soft-but-complementary background; the frame-filling composition, which includes plenty of gorgeous detail; and the lovely perch, which - like the background! - complements the bird perfectly.

I do have suggestions for improvement, but they’re very minor:

1. While the shallow depth of field effect is great, it looks like the tip of the bird’s tail, as well as perhaps the more distant wing, is slightly out of focus as a result. For me, getting the tail and wingtips in sharp focus is less critical than keeping the head sharp, but I do like the entire bird to be sharp whenever possible. I’d recommend experimenting with a narrower aperture in order to achieve a slightly deeper window of sharpness. (As a bonus, a narrower aperture will ensure that more of the beautiful perch is sharp, which would also enhance the image, I think!)
2. In bird photography, the bird’s head and body position are extremely important. I always like to see a bird that’s at least parallel to the picture plane, and when possible, I like to photograph when the bird turns slightly outward (so the head is tilted toward the camera). I also like to make sure the eye is very visible. It’s hard for me to gauge the angles exactly here, but I think that a bit more of a body turn or a head turn could elevate this image even further and really help create a strong focal point for the shot. (As an alternative, you could try brightening up the bird’s face and especially its eye - as well as adding a bit of selective sharpening and contrast to the face area.)

But it really is a wonderful image, Eric, and I really appreciate you sending it in!

Signing off (with a question)

Well, that’s all for today, but I’d like to mention one more thing before I go. 

As 2023 comes to a close, I’ve been thinking a lot about why I take pictures. What is it that motivates me to head out for hours at a time with my camera, sometimes in the cold or rain? What is it that keeps me wanting to press that shutter button, even when nothing seems to be going right photographically?

I’m still working on the answer, but in the meantime, I wanted to ask you:

What motivates you to take pictures? Why is photography important to you? 

I’d love to hear from you - and if you’d like to share your thoughts, just hit Reply to this email!

Wishing you a very happy holidays!

Jaymes and the dPS team