Jim Zuckerman’s

PH OTO I N S I G HTS
September 2020

Festival photography
Autumn Colors
Focus point selection
Photo tours
Student showcase
Ask Jim
Subject index
1
 4. Festival photography
8. Autumn colors
18. Focus point selection
On the cover: Tundra wolf 24. What’s wrong with this picture?
photographed in Jim’s Babies 26. Short and Sweet
Wildlife workshop, Montana. 27. Ask Jim
On this page: Mountain lion, 28. Photo tours
also captured in the Babies 30. Student showcase
Workshop, Montana. 36. Back issues
41. Subject index for Photo Insights

2
M
any of my clients have written to me saying they are so tired of the lockdown,
and they can’t wait to be able to travel again and to take pictures. I agree. In
the meantime, though, I have a suggestion.

I really enjoy going through my photo library, looking for ways to improve images and to
try new composites that had never occurred to me before. I often come up with images
in which the components had been there all the time, but they hadn’t been combined un-
til I re-considered the possibilities. One such image is shown on page 35 of this eMaga-
zine. I photographed the solar eclipse in Nashville in 2017, and I captured the image of the
Egyptian pyamids and the Milky Way also in 2017. In thinking about the ancient ruins,
it occurred to me a solar eclipse would look amazing behind the ancient structures. The
ancient Egyptians felt a cosmic and spiritual connection to the pyramids, and it seemed to
me the eclipse made that connection come alive in a visual sense.

The Milky Way was the final touch. One great shot of our galaxy put behind the appropriate
foreground makes an incredible visual statement.

I can’t wait to travel again too, but had I been leading a photo tour, I’m sure I wouldn’t have
come up with this idea. All of us have tens- or hundreds of thousands of images that are just
sitting in their respective folders, waiting to be rediscovered, embellished, and enhanced.
Even a simple change in color and contrast can change a shot from looking dull and unin-
spiring to visually compelling. If you know how to convincingly combine photo elements,
the sky is the limit. Nothing is impossible with what you can create.

While you are frustrated in being home more than you thought was tolerable, look to your
photo library as a creative outlet that will keep you engaged and excited until all of the pres-
ent nonsense is past us.

Jim Zuckerman
photos@jimzuckerman.com
www.jimzuckerman.com

3
 FESTIVAL PHOTOGRAPHY
and the problem of bad backgrounds
O
ne of the major highlights of a pho-
tography tour, foreign or domestic,
is a festival. Whenever possible, I
include them in my itineraries for the tours I
lead. Wild costumes, great color, and danc-
ers make amazing photographic material. The
problem, though, is too often the backgrounds
are distracting and unattractive. An otherwise
great picture is ruined by unappealing ele-
ments behind the subject.
A good example can be seen in the image be-
low. I took this during a Chrismtas parade (I
know -- a little strange for Christmas) in Puer-
4
to Rico. Obviously, the background ruins the
picture. Even though the wild outfit of the sub-
ject dominates the composition, the tourists in
the background and the markings on the road,
plus the distant float, divert our eyes from the
subject. It was not possible to blur the back-
ground more than I did because I couldn’t have
used a longer lens. I took this shot at f/8, and
even had I opened the lens one or two f/stops,
that wouldn’t have obscured the distracting ele-
ments enough to make this work.
Compare this photo with the composite on the
next page. All the problems have been solved
by adding the blur of color behind the subject.
The background image comes from a 1/8th
second exposure of colorfully dressed dancers
in the same parade.
The key to saving problematic festival pictures
and turning them into winning shots is to first,
recognize the background is not ideal, second,
take a photograph (or use an image from your
files) that can replace the undesirable back-
ground, and third, develop the skills needed in
Photoshop to make it happen.
Distracting elements
Distracting elements come in many forms, but
the main things you are looking for are:
1. Other tourists
2. Poles, trees, buildings, etc. that have noth-
ing to do with the festival and that present bold
graphic lines behind the subjects.
3. Bright highlights. These draw attention away
from the subject. They could be a bright sky or
overexposed areas from mottled sunlight.
4. Signs, advertising placards, traffic, power
lines and other city elements. These are always
bothersome because they are simply unattract-
ive and ruin the impact of the festival pictures.
In the background of the picture on the next
page taken during the Jember Fashion Carna-
val in Indonesia, the building, it’s bank sign, the
street lamp posts, and the white sky are all dis-
tracting from an otherwise exciting shot. On
page 7, you can see the difference when I re-
placed the entire background with well defined
clouds. Note the diffused lighting on the scene
and how the storm clouds would provide this
kind of available light on the parade. When
you replace backgrounds, the light always has
5
to match.
Preconceiving background images
The types of backgrounds that work behind
festival images vary, of course, but I narrow
them down to a few types of pictures that al-
ways work. They are:
1. A dramatic or beautiful sky
2. A blur of color
3. Color texture
4. Scenes of the festival that are sharp
5. Scenes of the festival that are blurred
As you shoot the festival, keep these things in
mind. You’ll find that you will take pictures
not typically on your creative radar, but these
will give you a lot of composite options once
you review your pictures from the festival.
On the next page, you can see I replaced the
6
unattractive background of power lines and
ugly buildings with scenes of the Holi Festi-
val in India. The portrait of the young wom-
an shows she had already been splashed with
color during the festival, but the original back-
ground was pretty bad.
Developing skills in Photoshop
To replace backgrounds in pictures taken dur-
ing festivals, the tools most useful in Photo-
shop are the pen tool, the plugin Topaz Mask
AI (for hair and feathers), the quick selection
tool, and the lasso tool. In addition to using
layers and layer masks, these tools allow you to
make precise selections. Without precision, a
new background won’t look real.
In addition to replacing the background, I
like to eliminate road markings as well. In the
original shot on the previous page, you can see
 By replacing the back-
ground in this shot
from the Holi Festival
in India, I completely
transformed the
portrait. The picture
on the left shows the
woman outdoors in
a street covered with
power lines. In the
picture on the right,
she appears to be in
the midst of the festi-
val iteself.

I cloned out the white lane stripes and all the age without imperfections. §
trash in the street. This makes for a perfect im-

7
 Autumn Colors
T
he changing of the trees is just around
the corner, and for nature and land-
scape photographers it’s a great time
to be outdoors taking pictures. There’s noth-
ing like dazzling color when looking through
the viewfinder.

There are some important considerations I

wanted to go over that, I feel, will help you cap-
ture artistic pictures of autumn colors. Forests
are not easy to shoot. They are busy, messy,
and often it’s hard to find strong graphic de- and undergrowth. Sometimes you have to step
signs in the tangle of branches, leaves, trunks, back, or shoot from a distance, to find a pattern.

8
That’s what I did with the picture at the bottom of
the previous page. Other times you can move in
close and look for designs in individual leaves as I
did in the shot at the lower right.
Here are some guidelines you can follow to find
strong compositions when shooting colorful for-
ests.
1. Look for distant shots
easy it was to find a nice pattern.
Another way to find striking color patterns
is to shoot from a height as I did in the photo
above. I took this from Owl’s Head in Ver-
mont, a viewpoint that rises about 1200 feet
above the forest canopy below. If you get
lucky, in the early morning there can be low
lying fog or clouds that add to the beauty of
the scene. The patterns of color are sensa-

You can find beautiful patterns of color when

shooting a forest from a distance with a long lens.
To do this, look for steep hillsides. As the land
rises, you will be able to see patterns of color. Giv-
en the distance you’ll be shooting from, depth of
field won’t be a problem because on a steep slope,
the trees will be essentially parallel with the digi-
tal sensor. The shot at the bottom of the previous
page shows a fairly steep hill and you can see how

9
 FROG and REPTILE WORKSHOP
Oct. 10 - 11, 2020

in St. Louis, Missouri

10
tional from here. It’s an easy walk from the
parking area to the top of the 2800 foot moun-
tain.
2. Shoot from bridges
Because forests are dense with vegetation, it
can be challenging to find a strong, graph-
ic composition. One of the ways to search
for beautiful images is to shoot down a river.
The watercourse cuts through the forest and
opens it up, allowing (sometimes) a wonder-
ful composition that reveals itself. This is eas-
ily accomplished from a bridge. Not all bridge
views make great pictures, but many do. Don’t
drive over a bridge without looking down the
river from both sides.
I took the photograph above from a bridge.
I parked off the road and walked back to the
overlook. Most bridges don’t allow parking.
3. Photograph across lakes
Lakes and ponds also give you the opportunity
to shoot a stand of trees from a distance. If
the lake is too large, the trees on the opposite
side will be too small in the frame. That’s not
what you want. Ideally a small lake or pond is
perfect for a 200 or 300mm focal length. On
windless days, reflections are mirror-like and
the resulting images are stunning.
Get a detailed map, either online or a paper
map, and look for small bodies of water. The
picture at the bottom of the next page shows
a small pond about 100 feet across. This was
perfect because the openess allowed for a clean
shot of the stand of trees with nothing distract-
ing in the foreground.
11
4. Shoot up

A wide angle lens, when pointed skyward and when

standing in the middle of a forest, can produce some
very dramatic and exciting images. I took the photo
at right with a 16mm focal length shooting straight
upward. The elongation characteristic of wide angles
added to the graphic design, and the color was bril-
liant and defined the success of the image.

5. Include other elements with the colorful foliage

Look for attractive and interesting manmade subjects

that work well in an environment of autumn color.
The red house on page 8 and the 19th century church
shown on the next page are examples. There are so
many others: covered bridges, old tractors, junker
cars, barns, split-rail fences, old cemeteries, grist mills,
weathered and dilapadated farm houses, and decaying
stone walls can all be worked into an autumn compo-

12
sition. If you are photographing in New Eng-
land, there are many 18th and 19th century
structures that look great with foreground or
background autumn foliage. The round barn
on page 16 is an example. I shot this in Ver-
mont.

6. Lighting

Contrary to what you might think, autumn

foliage looks much better in pictures with dif-
fused light as opposed to direct sun. Compare
By contrast, the stand of trees on the right
the two images below. The trees on the left
were lit by diffused light from an overcast sky.
were lit by direct sunlight and, although the
There are no black shadows, so we can see
reds are saturated, there is too much contrast.
good detail throughout the image. The colors
The shadows are very dark, and the mottled il-
are attractive, and there isn’t a pattern from
lumination detracts from the graphic design of
dappled lighting competing for attention with
the image because it creates a pattern of light
the color and design of the forest.
and dark.

13
 NAMIBIA PHOTO TOUR
May 22 - June 1, 2021
Monster dunes Wildlife Walvis Bay cruise Dead trees Milky Way

14
ONLINE PHOTOSHOP TRAINING
4 Live Sessions Every Saturday Starting Sept. 5, 2020
by Jim Zuckerman

Jim starts at the beginning, assuming you know nothing about Photoshop. With a screen
sharing meeting using GoToMeeting software, Jim describes his workflow, how to set up your
desktop for maximum efficiency, how he processes RAW files for visual impact, and then
he goes over the most useful tools and commands in Photoshop. He then explains how to
use layers, layer masks, and how to make precise selections for compositing images. This
opens the door to instruction on replacing the sky, creating silhouettes, and fixing numerous
problems in your pictures.

Jim also delves into blend modes, manipulating individual colors in your images, his favorite
plugins, how to turn photos into paintings, and much more. Each session is two hours plus a
30 minute period for questions and answers. There is also time for critiques where you sub-
mit images to Jim and he gives you his professional feedback so the entire class can benefit.

Each session will be recorded, and you will receive the video file so you can go over the mate-
rial at your leisure any time in the future. Click HERE for more information.

15
7. Dominant foregrounds

One of the techniques I use a lot when shooting

landscapes, and this has direct bearing on au-
tumn foliage images, is to use a wide angle lens
positioned very close to foreground elements in
a composition. When I say ‘close’, I mean be-
tween 2 and 6 feet. This makes the foreground
disproportionately large compared to the back-
ground, and this kind of look is visually com-
pelling and even dramatic.
infinity is sharp (landscape shots require, vir-
In the cemetery shot at right, notice how the tually without exception, complete depth of
fallen leaves in the immediate foreground are field). I always use f/32, and even though this
very large compared to the background. This is aperture isn’t as sharp as f/8, it provides a lot
certainly a function of distance, but it’s also re- more depth of field than f/8 does. There is
lated to the close proximity of the nearby leaves nothing attractive about less-than-sharp fore-
to any wide angle lens. grounds or backgrounds when photograph-
ing landscapes. Consider that masters of the
It’s important to use a small lens aperture so ev- medium like Ansel Adams never had partially
erything that’s just inches from the camera to sharp landscapes. §

16
w

UPCOMING PHOTO WORKSHOPS

Photoshop Online Training

In the comfort of your home, learn how to
be super creative in Photoshop. Learn how
to make precise selections, replace the sky,
create believable composites, make painterly
images, and so much more. Your photogra-
phy will never be the same!

Sept. 5, 2020

Winter wildlife workshop

Stunning pictures of North American
animals including wolves, red foxes, arctic
foxes, mountain lion, Canada lynx, and
more. The animals will be in their winter
coats and very beautiful. This is based in
Kalispell, Montana.

January 13 - 20, 2021

Photoshop Workshop
The setting is in my home and, in this two
day workshop, you’ll learn enough to be
truly dangerous in Photoshop! How to
replace a sky, how to fix all kinds of photo-
graphic problems in your pictures, how to
handle blown highlights, how to be incred-
ibly creative . . . and more.

November 7-8, 2020

10 17
 Focus Point Selection
G
reat photographs are a function of
several factors. These include art-
istry, skill, serendipity, luck, pre-
conception, and . . . intelligent choices when it
comes to camera settings. One of those very
important settings is focus points.

A typical focus point array is shown at right.

There are basically three choices:

1. All the focus points

2. A center cluster of points, typically 9 to 15 I know there are variations to the focus point
in number selection process, such as ‘expansion points’,
3. One individual point, either centered or off- but I find these are essentially worthless. Let
center me explain my rationale in using each of the

18
Expand your photographic artistry with
eBooks
Click on any ebook to see inside

18 19
 eBooks continued
Click on any ebook to see inside

20 19
W i n t e r W i l d l i f e Workshop
January 13 - 20, 2020
Based in Kalispell, Montana

21
23
three main choices.
All the focus points
I use this choice for one senario only -- when
I am photographing birds in flight against the
sky as in the photo on page 18. It can be chal-
lenging just to keep the birds in the center of
the frame, especially with a long lens. If the
bird or birds go off-center, the focus points at
the periphery of the array will lock onto the
subject. Even if they catch a portion of a wing,
the bird will snap into focus much faster than a
person can do manually.
If the bird is flying in front of a forest or land-
scape, this choice won’t work because some of
the focus points can lock onto the background
instead of the subject.
A center cluster of points
22
I use a center cluster of nine focus points for
98% of my shooting. Most subjects are in the
center of the frame -- or at least, the most im-
portant part of the subject is there -- so I can be
assured of sharp focus.
If a subject is off-center, like the rearing horse
below, instead of moving the center cluster
away from the center to coincide where the
subject is (which would take too long and I
might miss the shot), I aim the center of the
viewfinder, and thus the cluster of 9 or 15 fo-
cus points, at the horse, and focus. I then lock
that focus setting in place either with the focus
lock button or back button focus, recompose,
and shoot the scene as I wish.
A single focus point
For spot focus situations where you have one
subject, a single focus point works very well
as long as the subject doesn’t have depth. It’s
possible the one focus point provides an errone-
ous determination of focus. A case in point is
the Icelandic horse at right. I was, in fact, us-
ing a single focus point, and the autofocus locked
onto the hair in the mane. The horse’s head was
turned to me, and that meant it’s eyes and nose
were about 18 to 24 inches closer to me than the
mane. I was shooting with a 70-200m telephoto
at f/2.8, thus the depth of field was quite shal-
low. If you can enlarge this image on your com-
puter or tablet, you’ll be able to see the eyes are
not sharp. Instead of locking onto the eyes, the cessity of choosing many settings. By leaving
single focus point locked onto the mane. This is the focus point distribution alone, you have
why I no longer use a single focus point. It’s too one less thing to deal with in fast changing
easy to focus on the wrong element in a compo- scenarios. For static subjects like landscapes
sition. If all the elments are on a single plane, or and architecture, you have all the time in the
close to it, like the ballet dancer below, then the world to consider each setting. But for wild-
single focus point can work. life, birds, children, and so many other sub-
jects you must be instantly ready. Changing
There are many things to think about when seri- the focus point array takes time; most of you
ously taking pictures, and that includes the ne- will benefit from a small central cluster. §

23
 What’s wrong with this picture?

U
nder most circumstances, I would be happy with this picture.
But when compared to the image on the next page, this one falls
short. There are a few reasons for this.

First, the Canada lynx kitten is looking down. Because of the angle of the
head, there is a shadow covering the top third of each eye caused from the
protruding brow.

Second, the expression on the kitten seems dull when compared to the pic-
ture on the next page. His face isn’t alert, engaged, or locked on something
of great interest.

The lighting was diffused daylight, and that was ideal.

24
The photo above shows the lynx kitten fully alert, and his attention is rivet-
ed on something. In addition, the head is looking out -- i.e. straight ahead
-- instead of downward, thus the eyes are fully illuminated.

I would have preferred to include both paws completely, as I did in the

shot on the previous page, but the cat leaned to our right and I moved the
camera to follow that movement. Still I much prefer the expression and
the alertness I captured in this photo.

In both pictures, the background is perfectly out of focus. None of the

vegetation is defined, which means all the attention stays on the kitten’s
face. My settings were 1/1000, f/6.3, and 2000 ISO, and I took this with a
100-400mm Canon zoom at one of my wildlife workshops in Montana. §

25
 SHORT AND SWEET
1. When shooting in deep shade, colors tend to go
bluish especially if you use daylight white balance. If
you try to adjust the WB to cloudy or even AWB, you
might come closer to the correct color. For precision, I
leave my WB on daylight for all outdoor photography.
I fine tune the white balance in ACR or Lightroom.
3. Don’t handhold macro shots and expect to have
sufficient depth of field. Use a tripod -- not even a
monopod. For macro work, you need small apertures
like f/22 or f/32 to get back the depth of field you had
lost in magnifying small subjects. Macro photogra-
phy is most compelling with complete DOF.
26
2. You can never go wrong with a black background
behind any subject. It is a dramatic look that forces
attention nowhere else but the subject. Even with
models that have black hair, you can add just a touch
of light on the hair to give it enough texture and defi-
nition to separate the subject from the background.
4. When shooting dynamic interiors, wide angle lens-
es are best -- and the wider, the better. I shot the Old
State Capital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a 14mm
lens. Thanks to the ‘distortion’ from such a wide lens,
the curves of the dramatic staircase are exaggerated and
made visually compelling. §
 ASK JIM
Every month, Jim will answer a question from his online students, from people who participate
in his tours and workshops, or from subscribers to this magazine. If you have a question
you’d like Jim to answer, please drop him a note at photos@jimzuckerman.com.

Q: Jim . . .I took this picture in Kansas City, and I like the composition. But this doesn’t strike me as an
outstanding image, and I wanted to know your thoughts on how it can be improved. What else could I have
done to make this more exciting?
Sandra Akins, St. Louis, Missouri

A: You handled the contrast of a midday sun well in post-processing this image. The shadows have been
lightened and the highlights toned down. That was correct. I also think the composition is fine. The only
thing I can suggest for improving this is to shoot it again at twilight. Assuming the fountain is illuminated,
the cobalt blue sky will mix with the artificial lights and the color combination will give this scene the visual
impact you want. Cities, monuments, and architecture always photograph better at twilight.

© Robert Middleton 2020

27
 Partial list of Photography Tours
2020 - 2021
WINTER WILDLIFE ETHIOPIA HOLLAND/BELGIUM
Jan. 2021 Mar. 2021 April 2021

NAMIBIA MOROCCO LAVENDER FIELDS (France)

May/June 2021 Jun. 2021 June/July 2021

ICELAND INDONESIA NORWAY/DENMARK

July 2021 July/August 2021 Sept. 2021

PERU NATURE POLAR BEARS WHITE HORSES

Sept/Oct. 2021 Nov.. 2021 Apr. 2022

For a complete list of all the photo tours/workshops Jim conducts, go to his website: www.jimzuckerman.com.
28
Frog & Reptile Workshop
October 10 - 11, 2020
At least 40 species of tiny, exotic poison dart frogs,
reptiles, and more. This is a macro workshop.

29
 Student Showcase
Each month, Jim features one student who took beautiful and inspiring images on one or more of his pho-
tography tours or workshops. It’s really fascinating how photographers see and compose such different im-
ages even though we may go to the same places. Everyone gets great photographs on Jim’s trips.

Bobbie Hefner, Grass Valley, California Mongolia photo tour, China photo tour, India photo tour,
Bats and Birds workshop, Photoshop workshop, Online Photoshop Training, Costa Rica photo tour

© 2020 Bobbie Hefner

30
30
Student Showcase, continued

© 2020 Bobbie Hefner

31
31
 Student Showcase, continued

31
37
32 33 35 33
 Student Showcase, continued

© 2020 Bobbie Hefner

34 33
33
 POLAR BEARS from Ground Level!
November 6 - 12, 2021

34
 PHOTOSHOP WORKSHOP
in my home
Sat. & Sun., Nov. 7-8, 2020
Photoshop is a photographer’s best friend, and the creative possi-
bilities are absolutely endless. In a personal and ‘homey’ environ-
ment (I have a very cool classroom setup in my home), I start at
the beginning -- assuming you know nothing -- but I quickly get
into layers, cutting and pasting, plug-ins, using ‘grunge’ textures,
replacing backgrounds, using layer masks, blend modes, adding a
moon, and a lot more. I promise to fill your head with so many
great techniques that you won’t believe what you’ll be able to do. I
go over each technique several times to make sure you understand
and can remember it.
Photoshop instructors approach teaching this program from dif-
ferent points of view. My approach is to be as expansive in my
thinking as possible in creating unique, artistic, and compelling
images. In addition to showing you how to use the various tools,
pulldown menus, layers, and so on, I spend a lot of time giving you
creative ideas that will inspire you to produce amazing images with
the pictures you’ve already taken.
I live in the Nashville, Tennessee area, and if you fly into the airport
(airport code BNA) I will pick you up. If you drive, I’ll give you my
address and you can find my home on Mapquest or with a GPS.
For the $450 fee, I include one dinner in my home (prepared by my
wife who is an amazing cook and hostess) and two lunches, plus
shuttling you back and forth from my home to your nearby hotel.
Contact me if you would like to participate in the workshop and
I will tell you how to sign up (photos@jimzuckerman.com). All
you need is a laptop and a lot of your pictures. If you don’t have
a laptop, I have two Mac Book Pro laptops I can loan out for the
duration of the workshop. §
35
 Click on the past issues of
PH OTO I N S I G HTS
you would like to read.
Nov. ‘12 Dec. ‘12 Jan. ‘13 Feb. ‘13 Mar. ‘13

Apr. ‘13 May. ‘13 Jun. ‘13 Jul. 13 Aug. ‘13

Sept. ‘13 Oct. ‘13 Nov. ‘13 Dec. ‘13 Jan. ‘14

Feb. ‘14 Mar. ‘14 Apr. ‘14 May ‘14 Jun.‘14

36
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Dec. ‘14 Jan. ‘15 Feb. ‘15 Mar. ‘15 Apr. ‘15
Jim Zuckerman’s

PH OTO I N S I G HTS
January 2015

• Topaz Glow
• A different approach to composition
• Photographing puppies
• Kaleidoscopic images
• Online photo course
• Student showcase
• Photo tours

May ‘15 Jun ‘15 Jul.‘15 Aug.‘15 Sept.‘15

Jim Zuckerman’s

PH OTO I N S I G HTS
June 2015

• Realistic HDR
• Selective focus
• Simulating bokeh
• Sepia & Dark Contrast
• Online photo courses
• Student showcase
• Photo tours
1

Oct.‘15 Nov. ‘15 Dec. ‘15 Jan. ‘16 Feb. ‘16

37
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PH OTO I N S I G HTS
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Mar. ‘16 Apr. ‘16 May ‘16 Jun ‘16 Jul. ‘16

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Jun ‘17 Jul. ‘17 Aug. ‘17 Sept. ‘17 Oct. ‘17

38
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39
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40
 Subject index for past Photo Insight issues
1/3 focus law Jul. ‘15
3D sphere Mar. ‘16
90 degree finder Mar. ‘13
Abstracts in soap Feb. ‘15
Abstracts, Shooting Mar ‘19
Aerial photography Jun. ‘13
African safari May ‘16
Airplane windows Mar. ‘16
Alien landscapes Jan. ‘13
Anatomy of 8 photographs Jan. ‘16
Angled perspectives Jan. ‘19
Aperture vs. shutter speed May ‘14
Aperture priority Sept. ‘14
Aurora Borealis Apr. ‘17
Auto white balance Dec. ‘13
Autofocus, when it fails Apr. ‘15
Autofocus failure Aug. ‘15
Autofocus failure Jan. ‘17
Autofocus challenges Apr. ‘18
Auto ISO Nov ‘17
Autumn Foliage Sep. ‘18
Autumn Color Sep. ‘20
Back button focus Oct. ‘18
Backgrounds, wild Nov. ‘12
Backgrounds, busy Apr. ‘13
Backlighting Apr. ‘16
Birds in flight Aug. ‘13
Birds in flight Jan. ‘14
Birefringence May ‘18
Birds in flight Mar. ‘16
Bird Photography Jun ‘19
Black velvet Mar. ‘14
Black and white conversions Mar. ‘17
Black and white solarization Sep. ‘17
Black and white with color Jan. ‘20
Blown highlights Feb. ‘18
Blur, field Nov. ‘18
Blur technique Oct. ‘17
Bokeh Jun. ‘15
Butterfly photography Jul. ‘14
Camera setting priorities Jun. ‘17
Capturing lightning Jun. ‘13
Catchlights Jul. ‘16
Cheap flash stand Apr. ‘13
Children photography Jun. ‘14
Chromatic aberration May ‘13
Chrome Dec. ‘18
Cityscapes Aug. ‘14
Cityscapes May ‘16
Clone tool, fixing an issue Sep. ‘17
Clone tool technique Jul. ‘20
Composites and Light Dec. ‘17
Compositing images Apr. ‘19
Composition, different approach Jan. ‘15
Content-aware, New Aug. ‘20
Contrast vs. exposure Jul. ‘15
Creating a star field Jan. ‘14
Creating a Sketch Dec. ‘17
Creative blurs Jan. ‘14
Dark backgrounds Nov. ‘19
Dawn photography Jan. ‘17
Dawn photography Feb. ‘17
Dead center Jan. ‘13
Dealing with smog Oct. ‘16
Decay photography Sep. ‘15
Define Pattern Sep. ‘18
Depth of field Aug. ‘16
Depth of field confusion Jan. ‘20
Depth of field and distance Dec. ‘18
Depth of field, shallow Apr. ‘20
Double takes Apr. ‘20
Drop shadows Apr. ‘19
Dust, Minimizing Aug. ‘19
eBook, how to make Jan. ‘13
Embedded in Ice Oct. 17
Energy saving bulbs Sep. ‘14
Exposing for the sun Sep. ‘16
Exposure, the sun Jul. ‘13
Exposure technique Sep. ‘13
Exposure, snow Jan. ‘14
Exposure triangle Nov. ‘14
Exposure, to the right Apr. ‘15
Exposure compensation Sep. ‘16
Extension tubes Dec. ‘13
Festival photography Sep. ‘20
Fill flash Sep. ‘13
Filter forge Feb. ‘13
Fireworks Jul. ‘13
Fireworks, Compositing Jun ‘20
Fisheye lenses May ‘13
Fisheye lenses Feb. ‘15
Flash backlighting May ‘15
Flash, balancing exposure Oct. ‘15
Flash, balancing off-camera Dec. ‘18
Flat art Sep. ‘16
Flexify 2 Mar. ‘20
Flood fixes problems Nov. ‘19
Flowers May ‘15
Flowers in harsh light Jul. ‘16
Focus points Mar. ‘15
Focus points Sep. ‘20
Focus stacking Mar. ‘17
Focus stacking Aug. ‘19
Focusing in the dark Oct. ‘16
Foreign models Jun. ‘13
Fractals, generating Sep. ‘13
Fractals Jul. ‘19
Framing May ‘17
Freezing ultra action May ‘17
From Terrible to Beautiful Aug. ‘19
Fun with paint Oct. ‘16
Fundamental ingredients Apr. ‘13
Fundamentals That Make Great Photos Jan. ‘19
Graphic Design Jul. ‘20
Garish imagery Dec. ‘15
Great subjects Apr. ‘15
Great ceilings & HDR Panos Jul. ‘19
Green screen Mar. ‘13
Grunge technique Feb. ‘13
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 Subject index for past Photo Insight issues
HDR, one photo Apr. ‘13
HDR at twilight May ‘13
HDR, realistic Jun. ‘15
HDR, hand held Dec. ‘16
HDR, hand held Nov ‘17
HDR, hand held Jul. ‘18
HDR panoramas Jun. ‘16
High wind Apr. ‘17
Highlights Apr. ‘14
Highlights, overexposed Feb. ‘15
Histograms, Why I Don’t Use Jun ‘19
Histogram problems Apr. ‘20
Hotels with a view Mar. ‘20
Humidity Oct. ‘13
Hummingbird photography Apr. ‘13
Hyperfocal distance Jul. ‘13
Image resizing Aug. ‘18
Implying motion Sept.‘14
Impossible DOF Feb. ‘16
Impossible DOF Jan. ‘17
Indestructible camera bag Dec. ‘14
Infrared photography Jul. ‘14
Interiors Oct. ‘15
iPad: Loading photos Aug.‘17
Jungle photography Dec. ‘14
Kaleidoscopic images Jan. ‘15
Kaleidoscopis images Aug. ‘20
Keystoning, correcting Aug. ‘15
L Bracket Feb. ‘18
Landscape photography Dec. ‘12
Landscape photography Apr. ‘14
Landscape photography Nov. ‘16
Light fall-off Feb. ‘14
Lighting a face Oct. ‘13
Lightning photography May ‘20
Liquify Feb. ‘18
Liquify Distortions Sept/Oct. ‘19
Long lens portraits Oct. ‘18
Long Lenses for Flowers Jul. ‘20
Low light photography May ‘15
Luminar 4 Jan. ‘20
Macro flash Nov. ‘12 Photoshop, geometrics Oct. ‘15
Macro flash Sep. ‘14
Macro flash Aug. ‘15
Macro trick May ‘19
Mannequin heads Apr. ‘16
Metering modes Nov. ‘16
Meter, How They Work Jul. ‘18
Meters, when they fail Dec. ‘16
Metering situations, Impossible Jul. ‘19
Middle gray Nov. ‘15
Mirrors Jan. ‘19
Model shoot Jan. ‘17
Moon glow Oct. ‘16
Mosaics Jun. ‘17
Mundane to Ideal Nov. ‘19
Museum photography Mar. ‘13
42
Negative space Jan. ‘16
Neon edges on black Aug. ‘14
Neutral Density filters Jun. ‘18
Night photography Feb. ‘14
Night Safaris Jun. ‘18
Night to Twilight Dec. ‘17
Noise reduction Feb. ‘17
Oil and water May ‘20
Optical infinity Jun. ‘16
Organization of photos Mar. ‘18
Out of focus foregrounds Jan. ‘20
Paint abstracts May ‘13
Painting with light Sep. ‘15
Panning motion Dec. ‘16
Pano-Mirrors with a twist Jan. ‘18
Parades Sep. ‘13
Parallelism Nov. ‘19
Photography to Art Dec. ‘17
Photography solutions Jan. ‘18
Photoshop, content Aware Nov. ‘12
Photoshop, sketch technique Apr. ‘13
Photoshop, replace background Apr. ‘13
Photoshop, actions palette Dec. ‘13
Photoshop, layer masks Feb. ‘13
Photoshop, the clone tool May ‘13
Photoshop, soft foliage Oct. ‘13
Photoshop, mixer brush tool Sept. ‘14
Photoshop, b & w with color Jun. ‘14
Photoshop, drop shadows Jul. ‘14
Photoshop, creating texture Feb. ‘14
Photoshop, face mirrors Feb. ‘14
Photoshop, liquify Mar. ‘14
Photoshop, face mirrors Aug. ‘14
Photoshop, digital spotlight Sep. ‘14
Photoshop, enlarge eyes Nov. ‘14
Photoshop, darken the periphery Dec. ‘14
Photoshop, mirror images Dec. ‘14
Photoshop, beam of light Apr. ‘15
Photoshop, polar coordinates Mar. ‘15
Photoshop, chrome May ‘15
Photoshop, actions palette Nov. ‘15
Photoshop, cut and paste Nov. ‘15
Photoshop, plugins Oct. ‘15
Photoshop, multiple selections Apr. ‘16
Photoshop, sharpening Apr. ‘16
Photoshop, Flood plugin Apr. ‘16
Photoshop, Desaturation Aug. ‘16
Photoshop, making a composite Aug. ‘16
Photoshop new tool May ‘20
Photoshop, place one element behind Aug. ‘18
Photoshop, the pen tool Feb. ‘16
Photoshop, canvas size Jan. ‘16
Photoshop, using the earth Jun. ‘16
Photoshop, define patterns May ‘16
Photoshop, paste into Nov. ‘16
Photoshop, b & w with color Feb. ‘17
Photoshop, open a closed door Apr. ‘17
 Subject index for past Photo Insight issues
Photoshop, palettes May ‘17
Photoshop, My favorite plugins Jan. ‘20
Portrait options Jan. ‘19
Portrait techniques Nov. ‘15
Portraits Mar. ‘13
Portraits, mixed lighting Aug. ‘14
Portrait Professional Nov. ‘19
Portraits, Lens choice Sept/Oct. ‘19
Portraits, side lighting Sep. ‘17
Portraits, window light Mar. ‘15
Portraits, outdoors May ‘17
Post-processing checklist Dec. ‘13
Post-processing: Contrast Aug. ’17
Predictive Focus Sep. ‘18
Problem/solution Apr. ‘17
Problem with cruises Jan. ‘18
Protecting highlights Dec. ‘12
Puppies Jan. ‘15
Puppy photography Feb. ’18
Reflections Feb. ‘13
Restoring old photos Jun ‘20
Safari May ‘13
Safari strategies Jul. ‘15 Wide angle portraits Nov. ‘14
Seeing as the lens does Nov. ‘14
Selective filtering Mar. ‘18
Selective focus Jun. ‘15
Self-critiques Jul. ‘13
Self-critiques Oct. ‘13
Sensor cleaning Jun. ‘18
Sepia and dark contrast Jun. ‘15
Shade May ‘14
Shady side Jun. ‘18
Shadows, Paying Attention to Mar. ‘18
Sharpness problems Mar. ‘14
Shooting through wire mesh Sept. ‘14
Shooting into the light Jun ‘20
Silhouettes Jun. ‘13
Silhouettes, Exposing for Sept/Oct. ‘19
Silvered landscapes Mar. ‘20
Sketch, How to Make Jun ‘19
Snow exposure Nov ‘17
Snow exposure Nov. ‘19
Soft light Jan. ‘13
Smart phone photography May ‘19
Stained glass Mar. ‘17
Star photography Jul. ‘16
Star photography and noise Jan. ‘18
Stock photography Sep. ‘14
Sunrise & sunset Jan. ‘19
Topaz Remask 5 Oct. ‘17
Topaz Simplify 4 Dec. ‘12
Topaz simplify 4 Jun. ‘14
Topaz Studio Apr. ‘18
Translucency & backlighting Nov. ‘18
Travel photography Feb. ‘13
Travel portraits Mar. ‘14
Travel tips Apr. ‘14
Travel photographer’s guide Jun. ‘17
Twilight photography in the rain Apr. ‘19
Tripods Mar. ‘18
Two subject sharp rule May ‘14
Two subject focus rule Jan. ‘20
Ultra distortion May ‘18
Warm fingers in winter Nov. ‘15
Water drop collisions May ‘18
What NOT to do in photography Apr. ‘18
White vignette Aug. ‘15
White balance Feb. ‘15
White balance, custom Mar. ‘16
Wide angle conundrum May ‘19
Wide angle lenses Mar. ‘13
Wide angle lenses Jun. ‘17
Wide angle keystoning Nov ‘17
Wildlife photos with wide angles Mar. ‘15
Window light Dec. ‘15
Window light portraits Aug. ‘18
Window frames Feb. ‘16
Winter photography Dec. ‘12
Winter bones May ‘13
Winter photography Dec. ‘15
Winter photography Nov. ‘18
Wire Mesh, Shooting Through Jul. ‘18
Workflow May ‘13

Tamron 150-600mm Apr. ‘14

Ten reasons photos are not sharp Jan. ‘19
Texture, Adding Mar ‘19
Topaz AI Gigapixel Mar ‘19
Topaz glow Jan. ‘15
Topaz glow Sep. ‘17
Topaz Impression Sep. ‘15

43

Saw-whet owl, babies wildlife
workshop, Montana
PHOTO INSIGHTS®
published by Jim Zuckerman,
all rights reserved
© Jim Zuckerman 2020
email: photos@jimzuckerman.com 38
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