X-Equals – image, workflow, technology, business

Print and Onscreen – Color Spaces and ICC Profiles – Part 2 of 2

Last time we took a fairly in depth look at Color Spaces. We are not going to go quite so deep today, but I am going to take a few minutes of you time to skim over ICC Profiles. ICC Profiles are similar in function to Color Spaces, in that they define a finite range of [...]

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Print and Onscreen – Color Spaces and ICC Profiles – Part 1 of 2

In this special 2 Part series, I am going to delve deeper into the realm of Color Management. We have touched on the topics a few times, but have never dug into discussing Color Spaces or ICC profiles. In today’s post, I am going to take a look at Color Spaces, what they are and [...]

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Mastering HSL in Lightroom – Part 3 of 3

Now that we have learned the basics of the HSL in Part One and the general method of working with the HSL in Part Two, it is time to expand our horizons a bit. So far we have focused on using HSL to improve an image by attempting to get realistic colors that have been [...]

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Mastering HSL in Lightroom – Part 2 of 3

In the first part of Mastering HSL in Lightroom, we covered exactly what the HSL is and how it is used. If you spent some time experimenting with the Color Checker DNG we provided you should have some sense of how Hue, Saturation and Luminance interact with the different colors. If not, jump back to [...]

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Mastering HSL in Lightroom – Part 1 of 3

Color – it’s the first aspect of a photograph most viewers ever notice. Colors bring an image to life, and mastering the color rendition of your image is of the utmost importance. Usually the color right from a RAW file is rather unimpressive, and needs some adjustment to make the image pop. To help manage color [...]

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In-Depth Workflow Mastery – The X-Equals Series

If you’re like me, you have a pretty similar workflow no matter what type of project you are working on. It makes sense, we’re creatures of habit. And … admit it, we’re pretty lazy when it comes to truly mastering new features or workflow concepts that are new to us. “I just want to know enough [...]

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Keeping it Raw in Photoshop – Part 3 of 3

Previously in Part 1 and Part 2, we created a composite image utilizing Smart Objects and layer masking in Photoshop. From those previous two articles, you are armed with the required tools to create dynamic images easily in Photoshop without having to lose the versatility of Raw. Today we will finish the images created, covering [...]

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Keeping it Raw in Photoshop – Part 2 of 3

Alright, so Part 1 of this series is fully digested, right? Well it is time to build on that procedure and really flex this workflows muscle. If you recall, I asked you to think about what presets you really like in Lightroom and to convert then to Adobe Camera Raw profiles using the past tutorial. [...]

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Keeping it Raw in Photoshop – Part 1 of 3

Previously I introduced X-Equals readers to Smart Objects in Photoshop as a method by which you can maintain the capabilities and quality of RAW, but still utilize many of the stellar features of Photoshop. In this series I am going to outline my RAW workflow within Photoshop, leveraging Smart Objects and Adobe Camera Raw to maintain [...]

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Painting with the Sun – Masters of Natural Lighting – Beth Jansen

Back in June, we sent out requests to select photographers to be part of a new series on X-equals regarding the use of natural lighting in their work. We specifically asked them: How you approach using natural light The challenges you face when working with natural light Special tips and tricks you can share for getting great images using [...]

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