Mastering Landscape Photography: Learn by Video

Get Great Shots of the Great Outdoors

Getting good landscape shots requires a special set of skills, both technical and creative. In this Learn by Video course, published in partnership with Peachpit Press, renowned landscape photographer Phil Hawkins shares his extensive knowledge of the subject. You’ll work along with Phil as he decides on the best equipment, settings, and compositions for a series of photographic projects in the Sangre De Cristo range of the Southern Colorado Mountains. Then you’ll see how he handles post-processing in Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop, and Photomatix — applying global adjustments, manually balance the dynamic range, creating high dynamic range images, performing black-and-white conversions, and more. You’ll also get helpful tips for preparing your images to be shared either through prints or on the web.

Trainer: Phil Hawkins

ISBN Code: 0321808339

Publication date: Jan 19, 2012

$34.99

Duration: 2 hrs 45 min

At Retail or On-Demand: What's the difference?

On-Demand or At Retail: What's the difference?

If you choose On-Demand you'll have access to the digital version of the course after purchase. All you'll need is an online broadband connection and a web browser. Log back into the site after purchase, and you can view the course online or download it for use offline on your computer. The booklet will be included as a PDF file.

This course is sold at a number of great retailers, including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com,where you can buy the DVD of the full course, plus a printed, full-color booklet produced and published by our friends at Peachpit Press. It's also available on Creative Edge, as are our other Learn by Video titles. If you choose the Buy at Retail option, you'll be redirected to Peachpit's site at Peachpit.com, where you can buy the DVD of the full course, plus a printed, full-color booklet.

This course is available "on-demand" which means you can both download it and watch it online.

Downloading lets you use the course offline and take full advantage of its feature-rich interface. If you don't want to download the entire course at once, log in to your account on the site and play the course's lessons right away as online video.

We hope you enjoy this title! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at help@video2brain.com.

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Welcome to Mastering Landscape Photography: Learn by Video

This chapter provides an overview of what you must consider before heading out to capture your images in the field. You'll get tips on choosing equipment, camera settings, file formats, and more.

Before You Go Out
- This lesson discusses the pros and cons of bringing a companion along with you on a landscape photography shoot and some of the surprising issues you might expect to face.
  
  What to Expect in the Field
  
  01:29
- In this lesson you'll learn you how to set your camera for the best possible image quality for landscape photographs. We'll cover shooting RAW, Adobe RGB, and more.
  
  Classic Landscape Photography Settings
  
  05:55
- The 5.6 rule is a way to eliminate vignetting by adjusting your camera's aperture. You'll learn all about it in this lesson.
  
  The 5.6 Rule
  
  02:29
- This lesson explains what a JPEG image is, how it works, and why you don't want to shoot in that format.
  
  JPEG vs. RAW
  
  03:29
- There are many tripods out there, so how do you know which one to use? In this lesson we'll discuss basic tripod characteristics, including ballhead types, the tradeoff between size and stability, and some examples of what NOT to use.
  
  Tripods
  
  05:37
- This lesson introduces you to the world of lenses, including wide-angle and telephoto lenses. You'll learn which lens to use when and how to properly mount your lenses.
  
  Lenses
  
  04:33
- Besides lenses, filters are some of the most important tools a photographer can have in their camera bag. This lesson shows you what to use and why.
  
  Choosing Which Filters to Bring
  
  04:19
- A good backpack is a key piece of equipment for a field photographer. This lesson will show you what to look for and what to put into your backpack before you hit the trail.
  
  Packing for the Field
  
  04:45
Now that you are familiar with the equipment you'll need, the next step is capturing the scene. This chapter will teach you how to set up your shot and explore some special techniques you can use to enhance your images.

Capturing the Scene
- In this lesson you'll learn how to read the all-important histogram. With it you can make sure your exposures are correct to accurately capture the detail in the lightest and darkest parts of the image.
  
  The Histogram
  
  05:31
- This lesson shows you the equipment and techniques you'll need to photograph a waterfall while capturing the motion blur of the water, making it look like cotton candy.
  
  Motion Blur
  
  03:50
- Panoramic stitching is a great way to capture an image that is too wide for your camera. This lesson will show you how to use a bracket made especially for this purpose.
  
  Panoramic Stitching
  
  03:19
- Sometimes the only way to capture a panoramic image is handheld. In this lesson you'll learn some special tips on how to get the best shot.
  
  Shooting Panoramic Images with a Handheld Camera
  
  02:47
- Reflections in still water create beautiful geometric patterns and colors. In this lesson you'll learn how to capture this kind of shot and get tips on the best equipment, settings, and composition for both black-and-white and color images.
  
  Reflections
  
  03:50
- Composition is simply the arrangement of the subject matter within the boundaries of the image. In this lesson you will learn what to keep in mind when you are composing your shot.
  
  Composing Your Image
  
  10:53
- In this lesson you'll learn the difference between simply taking a picture and capturing the scene. As you'll see, the key is to take many varied photographs of the same subject.
  
  Capturing the Scene
  
  06:37
- In this lesson you'll learn why you should always shoot using manual exposure techniques. You'll also see how to balance the dynamic range of your image with manual bracketing, ensuring that you get the best image possible.
  
  Exposure Considerations
  
  03:30
- In this lesson we will take to the skies and explore how to best photograph clouds. You'll learn a special trick for capturing the detail in clouds without losing the detail in the landscape. Be ready to move quickly: Conditions change and clouds move rapidly.
  
  Clouds
  
  02:56
No matter how carefully you shoot your photographs, you will always need to do some post-processing to optimize your images. This chapter introduces you to some useful programs for this kind of work and walks you through the most efficient workflow.

Post-Processing
- This lesson introduces you to several programs that work together to create an efficient image-processing workflow. You'll learn about Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, and Capture One.
  
  Workflow Basics
  
  05:21
- In this lesson we'll look at the comparative benefits of converting your RAW images with Capture One vs. Adobe Camera Raw.
  
  Converting Your RAW Images with Capture One and Adobe Camera Raw
  
  07:56
- How do you decide which file format to use? In this lesson we'll take a detailed look at the differences between images saved in RAW, JPEG, and TIFF formats.
  
  RAW vs. TIFF vs. JPEG
  
  06:03
- Even the most fabulous photograph will often need some adjusting. In this lesson you'll see how to adjust the white balance, saturation, and brightness of your images.
  
  Global Adjustments, Part 1
  
  06:36
- The possibilities for adjusting your image globally in Adobe Photoshop are endless, so don't be afraid to experiment. However, there are a few adjustments that are standard in landscape photography, as you will see in this lesson.
  
  Global Adjustments, Part 2
  
  08:21
- If your image has a mix of dark and light properties, you may want to manually balance the dynamic range to really make it pop. This lesson will show you how it's done.
  
  Manually Balancing Your Dynamic Range
  
  05:40
- High dynamic range (HDR) is primarily used as a special effect to create edgy images, but it can also be used as an easy dynamic range balancing tool. In this lesson you'll see an example of exactly how to do this using Photomatix.
  
  HDR: Photomatix
  
  10:45
- The Shadow/Highlight dialog box in Adobe Photoshop is a great way to bring down the brightness of an image in order to balance out the dynamic range or to reveal a portion of your image that is hidden by darkness. Watch this lesson and you'll see how.
  
  Photoshop's Shadow/Highlight Box
  
  02:37
- You should always have your horizons straight. Don't despair, however, if the horizon slants across your otherwise excellent image. You'll learn how to correct it with Adobe Photoshop in this lesson.
  
  Leveling and Perspective Correction
  
  03:06
- Don't short-change the clouds in your images - they can turn an uninspired scene into the shot of a lifetime. In this lesson you'll learn how to use Topaz to punch up the cloud detail in your landscape photographs.
  
  Processing Clouds
  
  06:26
- If your image is ultimately going to be viewed on the Internet, you'll need to process it in a specific way. In this lesson you'll learn how to really make it pop onscreen.
  
  Preparing Images for Internet Display
  
  05:28
- In this lesson you'll learn how to effectively and efficiently prepare your image for printing. Some of the important considerations include cleaning up sensor dust, adjusting the contrast using a layer mask, and correctly sizing your final image.
  
  Preparing Images for Print Output
  
  07:25
- Adobe Photoshop is the workhorse software program for most photographers, but there are a number of plug-in programs that play well with Photoshop and can really help improve your image. You'll learn about Topaz, Nik software, and Neat Image in this lesson.
  
  Special Plug-In Software
  
  07:03
- Converting color to quality black-and-white images involves several steps. This lesson walks you through an example involving a layer mask and a saturation adjustment.
  
  Black-and-White Conversions
  
  06:13

Welcome to Mastering Landscape Photography: Learn by Video

This series of video lessons provides guidance on equipment and techniques for landscape photography. The contents of this course include:

Before You Go Out
This chapter provides an overview of what you must consider before heading out to capture your images in the field. You’ll get tips on choosing equipment, camera settings, file formats, and more.

Capturing the Scene
Now that you are familiar with the equipment you’ll need, the next step is capturing the scene. This chapter will teach you how to set up your shot and explore some special techniques you can use to enhance your images.

Post-Processing
No matter how carefully you shoot your photographs, you will always need to do some post-processing to optimize your images. This chapter introduces you to some useful programs for this kind of work and walks you through the most efficient workflow.

The lessons are wrapped in a feature-rich interface that lets you jump to any topic and bookmark individual sections for later review. Full-Screen mode provides a hi-def, immersive experience, and Watch-and-Work mode shrinks the video into a small window so you can play the videos alongside your application. Also included are exercise files that give you an easy way to try out the techniques you learn and a 48-page guide containing supplemental material.

System Requirements

Broadband internet connection
Up-to-date browser with Flash plug-in
Screen resolution 1024x768 or higher
Sound card with speakers or headphones attached
Pentium 4 2.6 GHz or higher, or Apple Mac G5
512 MB RAM

HTML5 Player-Ready

This course can be played with an HTML5 Player, which means it can be viewed online with your iPad and iPhone 4.

Project Files (Downloadable Feature)

Project files are included with this course so you can practice what you learn and work right along with the videos.

Powerful, Feature-Rich Interface

This course features video2brain’s interactive interface. As you navigate the course, rolling over a chapter or video brings up text describing that item.

Full-Screen mode provides a hi-def, immersive experience. And Watch-and-Work mode puts the video into a resizable window that you can shrink so you can watch the lessons on one side of your screen while you’re following along and applying what you’ve learned on the other.

HD Video

This course comes in crisp 1280 x 720 high definition video.

Bookmarks (Downloadable Feature)

Available in the downloadable version of our courses, this feature makes it easy to create a custom bookmark in any lesson to mark where you left off or to make note of something you want to refer back to later. You can even add a name or short note to remind yourself what the bookmark is for.

Test Yourself (Downloadable Feature)

Available in the downloadable versions of our courses, Test Yourself lets you reinforce what you’ve learned with a series of interactive test questions about the topics covered in the course.

Bonus Booklet (Downloadable Feature)

This course is accompanied by a full-color booklet that provides supplemental material to enhance the video training. (Downloadable PDF booklet for on-demand courses, print booklet when purchased at retail.)

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