Previously, I wrote a tutorial about a quick and easy landscape enhancement workflow in Nikon Capture NX using a snowy landscape photo as an example. The tutorial demonstrated the use of Black and White Control Points, Color Control Points (CCP), and Selection Brushes. With the release of Nikon Capture NX2, there has been a very important addition to control point tools: the Selection Control Point (SCP). In this tutorial, I will show you a very simple but effective landscape workflow that can save a dull image within minutes. Instead of CCP, I will use SCP to selectively enhance the sky without affecting the rest of the image so there is no more need to use Selection Brush to remove the effect from unwanted area. Read More…
We covered the book last December. After a long wait, the book is finally available from Amazon, just a few days before the scheduled release date of May 11th. Instead of 288 pages as originally described, the book is now listed as 320 pages.
The Wiley “After the shoot” series books target on-the-go photographers who want the ability to edit photos on a laptop wherever the shoot takes them. The book should provide effective references on the location. Another book in the series is the Photoshop CS4 After the Shoot.
Nikon’s Senior Product and Software Manager, Michael Rubin, has been touring US cities to show people how to use Nikon Capture NX and how to establish a RAW workflow using Nikon Transfer and Nikon ViewNX. Now one of the places he gave classes, B&H, puts a complete set of the class videos online. The total length of the video is approximately 2 hours. So make yourself comfortable and enjoy!
Our friend from Nikon has posted a note in the Nikon Capture NX user group about the training videos available on NikSoftware.com. If you haven’t heard, Nik Software, not Nikon, created the Nikon Capture NX software.
The two new Capture NX2 videos show you how easy it is to touch up photos using Capture NX2. You can watch the flash videos online, or download the videos in mov format to watch offline on your computer or the m4v format to watch on an ipod.
There are bunch of other videos as well. They are nice to watch but probably useless unless you have the software. If you really like Capture NX2, you may want to consider the excellent but expensive photographic filter package Color Effect Pro 3.0 for Capture NX 2.
Previously I had a post about how to create Orton Effect using Nikon Capture NX. Although it was written for version 1.x of Capture NX, the basic steps should work fine for NX2. So I didn’t rewrite it for NX2. I did, since I am having fun making videos, create a quick (less than 2 minutes) video tutorial on how to create the Orton Effect in Capture NX2. For best clarity, please view the HD version. Read More…
This is a video tutorial showing you how to use Capture NX2 to change the gray background of a product photo to pure white. Ideally a good lighting setup and proper exposure should be able to get you the result you want. However in cases the lighting or exposure isn’t perfect, it is relatively easy to fix the gray background so the product stands out of a pure white background. This type of product photo gives a clean modern look. They are quite popular these days.
A few quick tips on how to get good product photos:
Use a light tent or large softbox or umbrella close to the subject to get the wrap around lighting for reduced shadow or shadow-less images. Another options is to use bounce panels placed around the setup.
Light the background independently of the main subject for better control of the exposure. This allows you to get pure white background while getting proper exposure on the product.
The large white background can fool the camera’s light meter. Use manual camera and flash exposure settings to ensure consistent result. Use a flash light meter if you have one, or use exposure bracketing.
If possible, shoot tethered so you can inspect the image in details on a computer monitor instead of the tiny LCD on the back of the camera.
Previous I posted this Capture NX2 tutorial on how to create a high key portrait. I have create a video tutorial showing the same easy steps but with a different example. Here is the video on Vimeo (view HD version for best quality).
, just a few days before the scheduled release date of May 11th. Instead of 288 pages as originally described, the book is now listed as 320 pages.
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