Every photographer wants sharper images. Travel and landscape photographer James Brandon shows us a few common mistakes and tips to avoid or fix them. He takes us through his Lightroom workflow and shows us how his method of sharpening images using luminosity masking.
In this interview with James Brandon, we cover, among other things:
Six tips for overcoming common photography mistakes
- ONE: get sharper images in camera by using the back button focus method
- TWO: don’t share all your images, pick only the best of the best and share those
- THREE: global or overall sharpening can over cook parts of your image, use a technique to apply local sharpening only where you want it
- FOUR: don’t take things too far, this applies to just about any post processing adjustment. Subtlety is key!
- FIVE: get something in the foreground to add depth to your image and add three dimensionality
- SIX: learn to see light and look both ways before shooting
Articles and other things mentioned in the interview:
- What is Back Button Focus and Why it Will Help You Take Sharper Photos
- Even the Pros Screw Up
- A funny thing happened on the way to the darkroom
- 6 Tips for Photographing Waterfalls
- James rain cloud panoramic shot at Epcot Center
About James Brandon
James Brandon is a travel and landscape photographer, an author and a teacher, based in Fort Worth, Texas. He’s a lover of iced tea, chipotle and his wife Kristin (but not in that order). He writes for Digital Photography School, Flatbooks, and his own website with ebooks, Lightroom presets and video tutorials.
James’ photography articles appear on Digital Photography School and he was also the author of a very popular article recently, 3 Reasons You Should Switch to Back Button Focus; also on dPS.
He’s the author of Tack Sharp: a Step by Step Guide to Nailing Focus ($9.97) a book from Flatbooks, and a video tutorial: 10 Common Photography Mistakes and How To Fix Them ($24.97)
Connect with James
- Twitter: @jamesbrandon
- Subscribe to James’ updates to get information on his new, extra special, secret thing we mention in the video
