What makes night sky photography so appealing? Is it the hues? Is it the sheer number of stars? Part of it is surely because a long exposure of the night sky is something the naked eye does not see. The possibility of photographing something like that is, in itself, a...
Post Archive By Madhu Manickam
How to Blend Layers in Photoshop: Blend Modes Explained
Most photographers are aware that layers are one of the most famous, even infamous, features in Photoshop. Layers form the very base of non-destructive editing in Photoshop, and almost all Photoshop workflows involve multiple layers…
8-Bit vs 16-Bit Images
The term “bit” is common in any form of digital media. With respect to digital imaging, bit depth goes by many names like pixel depth or color depth. In digital photography, the debate of 8-bit vs 16-bit files has been going on as much as Nikon vs Canon.
What Lens to Buy? A Beginner’s Guide to Buying Lenses
If there is one 'holy grail' that everyone talks about in photography, it has to be lenses. Beginner or professional, photographers have always been obsessed with glass. At a certain level, there is a valid reason behind the infamous glass obsession. Other than lighting equipment, lenses are the camera gear...
A Beginner’s Guide to Buying a Camera
What is the best camera to buy? This is one of the first few questions any aspiring photographer would have, especially with so many cameras out there today. My goal in this article is not to say one brand is better than any other, but just to introduce the most...
How to Crop Images in Photoshop
Cropping is one of the first steps in most post-processing workflows. In fact, most photographers apply some level of cropping to their images while editing. Reasons to crop an image go way beyond just getting closer to the subject. It could be for image stacking, panorama, straightening, or changing the...
The Elements of Photography
I was consumed by the technical aspects of photography during the early days of my career in photography. Getting a sharp image was all that I had in mind. "Which shutter speed should I use to capture birds in flight? Which ISO will give me images with less noise? What...
How to Reduce Noise Using Smart Objects
A noiseless picture is something that photographers have sought after for ages. A decade ago, it was the limitations with ISO performance of sensors that made high ISO noise a formidable foe. Even with the latest mirrorless cameras where photographers today are able to push the limits of low-light performance,...
How to Blur Background in Photoshop Using Lens Blur
Subject isolation is one of the most sought-after effects in photography. It is one of the primary reasons (along with low-light capability and sharpness) why anyone would even think of buying those expensive fast primes. It is undeniable that there is no replacement for getting it right in the camera....
What is “Blend If” in Photoshop?
In this article, I'll explain the concepts behind the "Blend If" setting in Photoshop and how to use it to blend layers together. Even though they have an unlimited array of uses, Blend Ifs are predominantly meant to be a simpler alternative to Luminosity masks. (We already have a detailed...