Campbells’ Quest

PRO TIPS

light, and generally, do not have bright light behind your subject unless you can use flash to brighten the shadows. The opening photograph of Jay (Figure 1) is strongly backlit, but a flash was used to fill in the heavy shadows and show the detail under his hat.

See the links for detail about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and dynamic range. This is important stuff, but cameras today can make tolerable choices about exposure while you learn composition, but they can’t recommend good composition.

EDITING: Your camera is a machine, calibrated to certain settings. Editing will be needed. Try this in the Photoshop Express App (PE). The app is free, fast, and easy to learn.

1. Import the photo into Photoshop Elements. 2. Crop and straighten to isolate your subject. 3. Lighten/darken with the exposure slider as needed. 4. INCREASE by 10 to 20 points the sharpness, clarity,

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contrast, and vibrance (or saturation). Then, by the same amount, REDUCE the highlights and LIGHTEN shadows. Adjust to suit your eye, and you’re done.

Figure 2, the image of a crab was a bit overexposed and washed out, when originally shot. After editing with the Photoshop Express App using adjustments similar to the suggestions here tons of hidden details came to life.

Jay & Karen Campbell are professional writer/photographers, with published works in many outdoor publications, and books. See more of their work by visiting:

jaycampbellphotography.com ■ www.