The Gap Between Pundits and Reality in the Photo industry

The Gap Between Pundits and Reality in the Photo industry

Thomas Fitzgerald
Editorial, Industry

I love reading about the photography industry, whether it’s about the market, new gear or so on, it’s as much an interest for me as taking photos itself. In the industry, there is a lot of well-known pundits, whether they are from magazines, blogs or YouTube. As with everything, there are those I like and respect, and those that I don’t have much time for. But even taking that into account, over the past few months especially, I’ve noticed some real credibility issues for industry observers. Why? Let me explain...

Defining Image Quality

Defining Image Quality

Thomas Fitzgerald
Editorial

“Image Quality”. It’s a term that is used all the time, yet the definition of it can be somewhat nebulous. Whether you’re talking about a camera’s sensor, or evaluating a specific photograph, the term “image quality” often can mean a wide range of things, and different people use the term in different ways.

So what is “image quality?” What does it actually mean? How do you define it?

Texture, Detail, Pattern

Texture, Detail, Pattern

Thomas Fitzgerald

I’ve had this idea in the back of my head for a few days and I wanted to act on it. For some reason, Ive had this urge to take out my macro lens and shoot some macro shots. So today I grabbed my camera and the afore mentioned lens and headed out to a local park to see what I could see. 

Dust and Spot Removal in Capture One

Dust and Spot Removal in Capture One

Thomas Fitzgerald
Capture One

Removing dust and spots in Capture One is actually quite easy, but it can be a little confusing for new users because of the fact that there are a few ways to do it. There’s also the problem that there are a few tutorials online that show you the most inefficient way to fix dust and spots, and that’s by using a healing or cloning layer. But there’s actually a dedicated dust and spot tool, that works in a much easier way for multiple spots, and is effective most of the time.

I really want to stop getting annoyed by stupid photography articles, videos and comments

I really want to stop getting annoyed by stupid photography articles, videos and comments

Thomas Fitzgerald
Editorial

Being a creative person can sometimes be draining on your mental health. I had a pretty crap December, spending most of it at home recovering from pneumonia. I missed being out taking photos, but I also realised how important health is, both physical and mental. I also realised that the two of these are not separate items, and working in the creative industry can be a strain on both. Everyone has their own pressure points, and discovering those, and learning to work around them is part of dealing with it. One of the issues that I realised gets me too worked up is when I read some stupid nonsense written about photography.

New Year Photography Plans and Goals

New Year Photography Plans and Goals

Thomas Fitzgerald
Editorial

At the start of the new year, I like to outline some of my photography related goals and plans for the upcoming year. Some of these are aspirational, and some are more practical. Many won’t get accomplished, but its still a useful exercise to write things down. While some are more longer term goals, I also have a couple of more short term projects that I want to talk about too.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Thomas Fitzgerald
Editorial

Wishing everyone a happy new year and a great 2019. I have been a little behind with updates for the last few months for personal reasons, but I hope to be back to full power and full steam ahead for January.

Luminar 3 Review

Luminar 3 Review

Thomas Fitzgerald
Luminar

It’s been over a year since the developers of Luminar teased that the upcoming asset management side of the software would come as a free upgrade to Luminar. Since then, people have eagerly waited for it, but for the longest time, it seemed like the rollout was getting further and further away. Finally, the first iteration of Luminar with this new “library” add-on is here. Unfortunately, it’s not quite what I think people were expecting. It’s a step in the right direction, but the software still has a long way to go.

Apologies for the lack of updates

Apologies for the lack of updates

Thomas Fitzgerald
Personal

I just wanted to write a quick note to apologise for the lack of updates recently. There’s actually been quite a bit going on that I wanted to cover, but I’ve been sick for most of December and the end of November, and so I’ve been unable to keep blogging as much as I would like to.

Luminar 3 With Libraries: A First Look

Luminar 3 With Libraries: A First Look

Thomas Fitzgerald
Luminar

I’ve been a fan of Luminar ever since it first came out. The reason is that I like it so much is because it is a powerful piece of software and it doesn’t try to be like anything else. It’s not trying to be a Lightroom clone. It has a lot of unique features, and I find editing with it to be a fun and artistic way of working. But it’s always had a few limitations, and the biggest of which has been the fact that it has been a single image at a time editor. That’s about to change.

Skylum Black Friday Deals

Skylum Black Friday Deals

Thomas Fitzgerald
Software, Sales

Skylum software is having a Black Friday sale, and as I’m a member of their affiliate programme, if you decide to purchase Luminar or Aurora HDR it will help out keeping the lights on here, as there’s a small commission, and as the phrase goes: "every little helps". Here’s some details as to what’s on offer.

Why you need to sharpen RAW files

Why you need to sharpen RAW files

Thomas Fitzgerald
Learning, Software

I’ve covered the topic of Raw sharpening on my blog many, many times, but every now and then I still get a snarky comment from a viewer or a reader who doesn’t understand how RAW photos work. It is usually along the lines of telling me that I’d be better off “learning to take pictures properly and get them right in camera so they don’t need to be “sharpened”. The thing is though, the reason you need to care about sharpening RAW files actually has nothing to do with whether you captured your photos properly, or whether images are “sharp” in camera or not. It’s actually to do with the way RAW files work.

A Simplified Approach to Sharpening in Fuji Files in Capture One

A Simplified Approach to Sharpening in Fuji Files in Capture One

Thomas Fitzgerald
Fuji X-Series, Capture One, Video

I’ve written a lot about sharpening Fuji files in various pieces of software, and in fact, I have a whole guide for Capture One with details and corresponding presets. However, for some, this may be still a little too complicated, so I wanted to give you just the absolute basics. This is particularly suitable for those who may be using Capture One Express but the advice works for both express and pro versions. I fact, this advice will really work with any file.

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