Nothing rattles the photography community faster than talking about lens protectors. Some swear by it, while others wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole. What is the rage about, and what is the approach you should take with lens protectors?

We will discuss all of them in this article.

What is a Lens Protector

Lens protectors are pieces of glass that can be screwed on top of your actual lens. They simply add a layer on top of your existing lens element, which provides some benefits.

Lens protectors are sometimes also referred to as filters, as many times, filters are used as lens protectors as well. The most common lens protectors/filters that are used by photographers are UV filters. I’ll use the term filters/protectors interchangeably throughout the article.

Unlike some other photography subjects, using (or not using) lens protectors is not a black and white choice. It is a personal choice, and whatever I am going to share in this article is my personal opinion. Some people may agree with me, while some might not. There is no right or wrong opinion here.

Should You Use Lens Protectors?

As you’ve probably guessed from the title of the video, I am in the camp that recommends using lens protectors. So, in my opinion, you should be using lens protectors on your lenses. Which one, you might ask? That is not very important. Both a UV filter or a clear glass protector works fine.

But why do I recommend lens protectors? In other words, what does a lens protector offer that you need to put it on your lens in the first place? And if there is a clear advantage, then why is the community so divided on it?

What Does A Lens Protector Offer?

Lens protectors offer many features. But, most of those features translate to 1 common benefit—protection of your lens.

No matter how careful you are, you are bound to have experienced it yourself. A little sand on the beach, a small bump against the wall, fog, water droplets, dust — lenses have to bear them all. And I didn’t even talk the time you accidentally drop your lens. Yikes!

The damage to a lens in all these scenarios can be minimized with the use of a lens protector. Simply screw one on, and you can be a little rougher on your lenses while also having more peace of mind. With a cheap protector, you’ll be protecting your expensive lens from bumps, grit, moisture, sand, dust, and a bunch of other things.

If you shoot in an extreme condition that can damage your lens, the lens protector will take most of the beating, protecting your lens. No wonder lens protectors are called “cheap insurance for lenses”.

The image above is a perfect example of when to use a lens protector.

Why Some People Disregard Lens Protectors (and why they’re wrong)

There are many arguments against lens protectors, and 2 of the most common ones that I hear the most are as follows.

Argument 1 – Lens Protectors Don’t Offer Any Protection

Some people say that lens protectors don’t work at all. They say that lens protectors are fragile, break easily, and are much weaker than the lens front element.

My answer to that is — of course, a cheap lens protector is not strong as a carefully engineered piece of glass with several coating that costs hundreds, even thousands of dollars. And it is not designed to be.

Most of the people who claim that lens protectors are weaker than lenses themselves ignore a simple fact. You don’t compare a lens protector to a lens. You compare the strength of the lens protector and the lens combined against the lens.

Visit a few forum discussions, and you’ll find a common video being shared in which a photographer conducted tests on trying to break lens protectors and lenses. After breaking a few lens protectors and failing to break lenses with the same force, he concluded that lens protectors are not worth it. Here is the video if you’re interested:

If he conducted the same tests with the lens protectors attached to the lens, the conclusion would have been quite different.

Even if you don’t watch the video, it is common sense that adding an additional layer of protection on something will enhance its protection. If you were to get a slap on the wrist, would you prefer to wear a shirt to protect yourself, or would you claim that your skin is much stronger than the cloth that makes the shirt?

Argument 2 – Lens Protectors Degrade Image Quality

The other common argument against lens protectors is that they reduce image quality.

Here, I’d agree with the other camp. Lens protectors do affect image quality for sure, but degrade is a much stronger word than what I’d use.

Here the result that you’re going to experience will largely depend on the type of filter you’d use. Although they are cheap, not all filters are made equal. A good lens protector will affect image quality just a bit, but nothing that you can’t fix in post. And nothing that you’d observe in an instant in an image.

Most of the good filters make the final image a tiny-bit soft, and you can fix it with some gentle sharpening. Bad filters, however, may cause all sorts of issues with your image, and I’d not recommend that you use them.

How To Select A Good Lens Protector

As I’ve clarified, you get all the advantages of a lens protector and almost none of the downsides if you use a good lens protector. But, how do you find out if the lens protector that you’ve been eyeing is actually good? There are many things to consider, and I’d suggest that you watch the following video to understand those factors better.

How Lens Protectors Affect Image Quality

One of the biggest arguments against using filters is that they affect your image quality. After all, who wants to have a cheap filter ruining the image quality of a lens that costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars, right?

While I agree with the sentiment, the reality is that filters do not affect the quality of your images. Let me clarify before I get some angry comments. A good filter should not affect the quality of your image.

There have been numerous tests done by various photographers, and almost all of them reached the same conclusion. If you choose a good filter (which usually means a decent $50 one), then there is almost no difference in image quality. Some people have reported a negligible softness in the images, but nothing that a bit of post-production wouldn’t solve.

When Not to Use a Lens Protector

Even with whatever I’ve said, there are a few use cases when taking the protective filter off makes the most sense. Here are some of those scenarios.

When image quality is of Utmost Importance

As we’ve seen already, using a lens protector will affect your image by a negligible amount. But, there might be scenarios where you want to squeeze out every ounce of image quality from your camera’s sensor. In that case, it is best to take your filter off.

When Shooting Directly Into a Light Source

When you have bright light sources in your scene, whether it be the sun or other bright lights, it is usually a good idea to take off your protective filter. Using any filter on top of your lens in that scenario usually causes excess flaring, which doesn’t look good.

When You Want to Use Another Filter

One scenario where the image quality does get affected with filters is when you start stacking them. If you need to shoot with an ND filter, a polarized, or something similar, it would be recommended to take that filter off. If you don’t, you’d probably experience some aberration, vignetting, loss of sharpness, or a combination of these factors.

When You’re Using a Lens Hood

Obviously, you can’t use any filters when you’re using a lens hood.

When You’re Using an Ultra-Wide Lens

Most Ultra-wide lenses have a curved front element, which makes them incompatible with any filter or protector.

What Are Some Good Lens Protectors

While there are many good brands, here are a few brands that I personally recommend. They are available in varying filter sizes, so pick the one that fits your lens.

Final Thoughts

Photographers worldwide are still “filtered” on whether they should be using filters on their precious lenses or not. I hope that I was able to make a positive case for using these inexpensive filters to protect your lenses.

Once again, whatever I wrote about is what I think, and you’re free to disagree with me. In fact, I’d encourage you to tell me what you think in the comments below.

Click the following link to learn how DSLR lenses work.

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The importance of post-processing and editing in photos and videos cannot be overemphasized. For every great photograph, great view, lighting, and aesthetics, there is a precise amount of effort that was put in place to achieve that result that has become a focus of all eyes. A bulk of these efforts come into play in the post-processing aspect, editing in particular. Many people refuse to see the importance of editing in photos and videos.

The most common mistake people make when it comes to photography is ignoring just how important post-processing can be. Most photographers skip the last step for many reasons; the most popular is the cost of accessing these post-processing and editing softwares.

And sometimes, because of how daunting it is to use this software, particularly for beginners. However, most people don’t know that there is a long list of editing tools that are easy to use, which are free or inexpensive.

These softwares were built so that you can achieve professional output without putting in too much expertise. Since not many people can afford Photoshop or Lightroom, below are some tested alternatives to achieve your desired result.  Some are free and some paid but most have a free version.

Photo Editors

Below I’m going to share the best photo editors for newbie photographers.

Pixlr

Since 2017, Pixlr has been the world’s most used cloud and mobile photo editing software and has undergone numerous developments and updates. Some of these updates include the software’s ability to take instructions using Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to revolutionize and accelerate content creation.

Check out some Pixlr features:

• One-click remove background;
• Sliders for faster editing times;
• Huge library of pre-made elements, such as stickers, borders, icons, and texts;
• Many beautiful photo effects.

Pixlr is free for users, and even though there are limits to the number of things you can do with a free account, it is enough for you to edit and transform your pictures to your taste successfully. For some advanced functionalities, you are to pay a subscription fee.

Fotor

For many, Fotor is an image enhancer rather than a photo editing software. Most photographers would rather employ the use of a more sophisticated software with capabilities that Fotor doesn’t offer. Still, regardless, Fotor is the recommended option for beginners, and small businesses looking to make an online presence.

Fotor is best known for its amazing range of different design templates. Still, several other features make it stand out among its peers:

• Diverse pre-made templates;
• General collages;
• Marketing resources;
• Social media posts;
• Documentation, and ads.

Some of the basic tools offered by Fotor include wrinkle remover, teeth whitening, frames, stickers, text options, and many more. However, some of the advanced features, templates, and high-end tools offered by Fotor are only available when you upgrade to the software’s paid version.

GIMP

GIMP, the acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program, is open-source software with a large community of developers and users behind it; this means the platform is always getting updated, improved, and tested for bugs so you can continue to enjoy it for free.

GIMP is considered by many as the best free photo editing software available on the market. The software contains a range of tools, including

• Cropping;
• Automatic image enhancer;
• Selections;
• Simple tools for beginners.

But professional users will find several helpful tools such as face swap, animated gifs, curves, personalizable brushes, and layer masks.

For graphics designers, photographers, illustrators, GIMP gives you sophisticated tools that help you get the job done regardless if you are a beginner or a pro. With the help of Third-Party plugins, you can further enhance your productivity with GIMP. GIMP is the closest alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

PiZap

PiZap is arguably the easiest online photo editor. The developers were convinced that Adobe Photoshop  and the likes are extremely difficult to use and time-consuming to learn; PiZap was built to be a stopgap. With absolutely no need to watch video tutorials before use, PiZap lets you edit your photos and have fun while at it.

Features of PiZap include the following:

• 1000’s of stickers to choose from;
• Adding text to photos;
• Cropping tool
• Fantastic filters;
• Instagram style filters;
• Brightness and contrast;
• Saturation and tint;
• 100’s of fonts to choose from;
• Photo borders and frames;
• Special effects;
• Glow text and text bubbles.

Picverse

Picverse is a rather unique free photo editing software. It allows you to edit your images in a few clicks using a web browser. It can help you to adjust colors, crop photos, resize, flip, and rotate images. Using Picverse you can add eye-catching photo effects that will dramatically improve even a simple photo.

Picverse works online, so you don’t need to download any software on your device.

Check out Picverse main features:

• Photo effects;
• Color correction;
• Basic editing, such as resize, crop, flip;
• Online app.

Video Editors

Even though there are numerous photo editing and enhancing softwares that double as video editing ones, dedicated software is tailored to suit the needs and requirements of video processing. Some of them are discussed below;

If you want to showcase your business and products, nothing compares to doing so using video content. However, digital and video marketing is 80% content, message, and clarity, meaning you cannot just whip up a random video and publish with the hope of converting to sales.

Your video is just as important as the amount of work you put into it. Your prospective clients are on the lookout for a video that suggests professionalism, which is where post-processing and editing come in. You are probably wondering how a novice like you would edit an entire video and make it look better while adding some pleasing effects.

The good news is that you do not need to attend a videography institute to learn to edit because these softwares, apps, and websites allow you to edit your videos and make them look professional and perfect for your industry and purpose.

However, due to the rapid transformation that the video marketing industry has undergone in the past few years, producing this content did not evolve on the same level. This made the video production and editing process very expensive, time-consuming, and complicated.

We’ve rounded up some of the best free video editors that can help you transform your videos. They enhance the colors, get rid of blurriness, and much more – until they are ready not just to be shared on the web among friends, family, or co-workers but to a wider community of social media users.

Kapwing

Kapwing allows people to create and share their stories on the internet. The best thing about Kapwing is that it is free and will continue to be for the nearest foreseeable future.

According to the developers at Kapwing, their platform fills the void between creativity and accessibility. Kapwing is built to give people the tools they need to express their creativity digitally.

Here are the main Kapwing features:

•  A multimedia editing suite, including trimmer, looper, filters, meme maker, subtitler, and many more;
• Ability to share videos with your family and friends fast;
• Option to create stop motions, resize, and share highlights of a post from your instagram story.

Fastreel

Fastreel is an online free video editing software that allows you to edit your videos without downloading any app. Everything you need to edit videos is available on the website. All you need to do is post file(s) on the website and start editing.

Some of the features and offerings of Fastreel include:

• A wide selection of transitions to place in between clips;
• Ability to adjust your selected clip and set the desired duration for your video;
• Hundreds of copyright-free music tracks that you can use in your clips. You can also upload or add your music;
• Online tool, as you do not need to download or install anything;
• Simple and easy-to-use interface.

ClipChamp

ClipChamp comes with every feature required to put together and make a great video with little or no experience or expertise needed.

Even if you lack the necessary video ideas and concepts needed to create your video, ClipChamp offers various templates in their library and can be customized to your taste until it fits your purpose.

For beginners, all you have to do is avoid the blank template that lets you edit from scratch; the ready-made canvas is the way to go because all you need to do is change the text, paste your desired text, and export!

ClipChamp features include:

• Customizable, but unique video templates;
• Facebook Video Ad Maker to speed up the process of creating ads;
• Webcam recorder.

Lumen5

Lumen5 is a video creation and editing platform that allows individuals and businesses to create engaging video content in the name of stories, social posts, and ads.

Lumen5 has a built-in media library that exposes users to over a million stock photos, music, and footage, meaning that users have all they need at their fingertips. There is no need for them to make any purchase on or outside the platform.

You can use this tool for:

• Turning text into a video;
• Keyword highlighting;
• Media library with video clips and images;
• Music library;
• Many fonts;
• Logo and watermark.

Clideo

Clideo is an all-inclusive video marketing software that allows you to create, edit, and package videos for export and delivery to anywhere on the web.

Do you want to make a meme online? Do you want to trim any part of a video online? Are you looking to create new videos from existing photos, GIFs, Music, and Videos? Clideo is definitely the right platform to do all these and many more. Some of the key features of the platform are listed here:

• Rotate videos and turn vertical video horizontal;
• Add Instagram-like filters to videos to enhance the footage;
• Integrate with Facebook or Twitter;
• Create animated GIFs from uploaded videos;
• Create a stop motion movie from any video clip;
• Add audio to video for uploading to YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram;
• Compress videos and reduce the file size.

Conclusion

Some people credit the photographer and his camera for every image that comes out well. However, I believe that a photograph is as great as the editor.

Without the effort put into the editing, the picture won’t be half as great when it is finally made public. I hope you enjoyed this list of the best photo and video editors. What tool is your favorite, and why? Share with us in the comment field below.

Click the following link to learn when to use Lightroom or Photoshop.

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One of the most common questions we get from photographers that are just starting out is about photo editing software and which one they should use. Most people have heard of Adobe and its Photoshop and Lightroom software but are confused to what the differences between them are and exactly which one they should be using.

Let’s take an in depth look at this question and the answer.

While both Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Lightroom are image editing software and have been developed to complement each other, they are equally designed to meet different needs and with different purposes in mind. Depending on the type of photography and editing you are doing will ultimately decide whether you should be using Photoshop or Lightroom. However, sometimes it may be the case of asking when in the editing process should I be using these tools as opposed to which one.

Here, I am going to break down the differences and similarities between Photoshop and Lightroom in an effort to help you figure out which software is the best choice for your photo editing needs. Either way, whether you just need a few small touch ups or prefer to combine your shots into a cool composite image Adobe has you covered.

While Photoshop and Lightroom are both essentially image editing software they have been developed with different needs in mind. Photoshop is a pixel-level image editor which allows vast control over the way an image looks. Lightroom on the other hand is designed to complement a photographer’s editing workflow.

In order to better understand all the differences between the two programs we must first understand what they are and why they were built.

What Is Adobe Photoshop?

Adobe Photoshop was first released back in 1990 as a simple photo editing software. It was created in response to the rise in popularity of digital photography. However, since then it has grown and morphed into this monster software with a plethora of functions and capabilities that reach far beyond simply editing an image.

As well as professional photographers, Photoshop is a common tool used by graphic designers, architects, animators, publishers and even 3D artists. If you need any kind of image editing done, then Photoshop pretty much has your back.

What Is Adobe Lightroom?

Slightly confusingly the full name for Adobe’s Lightroom software is actually “Adobe Photoshop Lightroom” which reflects that in some ways it is a smaller version of Photoshop. First released in 2007, Lightroom was designed for professional photographers only. It’s for this reason that it doesn’t contain all the many features that Photoshop does but also has its own features that don’t really belong in Photoshop’s world.

While Photoshop is in essence and image editor, Lightroom focuses more on a photographer’s workflow enabling editing and organisation of images in one place. It also gives users the option of between Lightroom Classic, classic desktop-based software or the cloud-based Lightroom which allows you to store all your images to Adobe’s cloud and easily sync between your devices.

With it’s pared back features and developed to be a photographer’s best friend, Lightroom is arguably the easier of the two programs to master. Intuitive to use and with systems built in that mean that even the laziest of photographers can easily keep their images organised, even when using Photoshop, Lightroom has become the first stop in a photographer’s workflow.

Easily Organize Your Photos

One of Lightroom’s game-changing features is its easy to use organization system. It starts right at the import where you can easily assign tags and metadata to entire photosets. Just spent a few hours taking photos at an event or a particular area? Great you can add a specific tag to your entire collection of photos from that shoot when you import them.

There’s also the ability to label, rate and flag photos making it easy to identify your best shots at a later date. Plus, you can even create smart folders so all those photos you have of lighthouses from over the years are now in one place.

Perform Basic Editing

Lightroom gives you the capability to perform the majority of the basic photo editing that most professional photographers commonly use. For those new to editing, Lightroom comes with a bunch of pre-sets (think filters) that allow you to quickly edit your images.

For those a little more advanced or adventurous you have the ability to tweak your images in a variety of different ways. You can do colour changes, exposure, crop, correct perspective, sharpen and even add creative effects. Lightroom also offers you the ability to merge images into panoramas and HDR images without the need for Photoshop.

It’s also worth noting that Lightroom uses non-destructive editing. This means that whatever changes you make to your image within Lightroom do not affect the original image as they are stored within the program. Once finished you can then export your new version of the image while the original remains intact.

Automate Your Workflow

One of the coolest things about Lightroom is the ability to automate your workflow. While sometimes it may be necessary to go through your images and edit them one by one, if you have a series of images that all require the exact same editing then Lightroom allows you to batch edit them.

This is especially helpful for those shoots where your conditions remained the same throughout, for example during a studio shoot or while shooting sport. It can help reduce the often lengthy, and tedious process of tweaking a bunch of images the exact same way.

Since its inception, Photoshop has become arguably the gold standard for image editing. It is used by professionals around the world and offers a vast suite of tools that let you do pretty much whatever you want to your image. However, because of this Photoshop can be a little overwhelming at first especially when compared to the simpler Lightroom.

It’s a Pixel-level Editor

With the ability to edit every single pixel of your image Photoshop truly gives you ultimate control. Whether you need to retouch a tiny fragment of the image or completely merge it with another to create an entirely new image Photoshop has your back.

Photoshop comes with all the editing tools that you need to be able to retouch your images in the same way that you would in Lightroom but basically gives you more control. Although you can only edit one at a time.

It’s Not Just for Photos

Unlike Lightroom, Photoshop allows you to combine your images with text and vector graphics allowing you to create images for social media campaigns, memes, and posters. It gives illustrators the freedom to take all of these and create an entirely new creation that they have pulled straight out of their imagination.

You Can Layer Images Over One Another

The layers feature is one of my favourites in Photoshop. It allows you to place images on top of each other to create a final image. This is a great tool especially when you have been taking photos of groups of people. It can be really tricky to capture one perfect image where everyone in the group is looking in the same direction, no-one is blinking, and everyone can be seen.

Layers allow you to take a couple of images of the same group photo and by using the layer masks you essentially combine the images so that you take the best bits from each image to make one perfect one. The layer masks can also be used to cut people out from their background, to merge backgrounds and give your images different moods.

Photoshop Actions

Photoshop actions is Photoshop’s way to batch edit images. If you find that you keep repeating a certain action to complete a process, then Photoshop lets you record them and save them as an action.

Actions can include a variety of things including tasks that cannot be recorded such a using a painting tool. It can also include modal controls so that you can enter values in a dialog box while playing an action. It’s basically like coding a set process so that it does it automatically for you.

Photoshop allows you to record, edit, customise and batch-process actions as well as working with groups of actions in action sets. It all helps to make your workflow that bit more efficient. Its also worth noting that if you are not confident on the tech side there are many people that create Photoshop actions which you can buy and install for your use.

As you can see each program has its own benefits that makes it a useful tool to have in your photo editing toolbox. However, its important to understand their various drawbacks so that you can easily choose the right program to edit in.

Lightroom Cons

As Lightroom has been designed with professional photographers in mind, it means that the ability to add text or graphic vectors to your images isn’t really a thing. You can do some considerably basic stuff such as add text or make a collage but that’s about it. This is great if you your final image is simply a photograph but for those of you that perhaps want/need to process your images further into, for example, a commercial graphic ready for an advertising campaign, well Lightroom won’t be able to do that for you.

While it has the ability to quickly edit your photos which in most cases will be exactly what you need, Lightroom only has limited editing capabilities. If you have a particular tricky or complicated image(s) then you may not be able to perform the post-production edits that you want. This is especially true for group shots or any image where you have more than a small part of the image that needs touching up.

Photoshop Cons

The biggest downside to Photoshop is its steep learning curve. While Adobe does have a large collection of tutorial videos to help speed that up, the sheer number of tools and possible ways to edit/create and image means that it will take time to get to grips with it.

This isn’t helped by Photoshop’s clunky workflow and the need to install Camera Raw for working with images in the RAW format. To get a similar workflow to Lightroom you would not only need Photoshop with Camera RAW but also Adobe Bridge too!

Then there’s the issue of only being able to edit one image at a time. While great in some instances, if you’ve got a batch of images that all need the same edits to them then it will take you a long time to go through them in Photoshop.

Lastly, unlike Lightroom, Photoshop has the potential for more destructive editing. While Lightroom still leaves you with the original image, unless you “save as” in Photoshop you may find that you just edit over the original image potentially leaving you stranded should things go wrong.

It used to be the case that you had to buy Photoshop and Lightroom separately and then every so often they would bring out a new version and you would need to update. However, since 2012, Adobe switched to a subscription-based model meaning that you always have the most up to date version of the software. It also allowed them to offer different combinations of their suite of software in different packages.

The fact that Adobe decided to offer a photography package that includes both Lightroom and Photoshop shows that they designed the software to work alongside one another. It also means that you get to save a bunch of money through purchasing that one package instead of buying them individually.

So exactly what parts of the photo editing process are best for which program? Well, while I’ve touched on it a little bit earlier let’s dive into a bit more detail now.

Here’s What the School of Photography had to say,

When to Use Lightroom To Edit Your Photos

Lightroom should be your first port of call. Whether you’re a beginner or more advanced, lightroom should be where you start your photo editing workflow. Not only is it vastly easier and quicker to get to grips with if you are new to the software but it also is an easy place to organise all those awesome photos you have been taking.

It may not seem like a big deal when you’re just starting out as a photographer but you will soon have thousands of images and having them all organised into easy to search for folders, categories and tags will be a godsend. Especially when your Aunt Karen asks you to find that photo you took at her birthday 5 years ago with her and your Gran.

Lightroom is also the best place to start your editing. If you have  mastered your camera, then most of your photos will probably only need a few tweaks and small edits. These can easily be done in Lightroom either individually or by batching your photos. As I mentioned earlier, Lightroom has some cool presets to help you out and several of the commonly used tools give you the option for Lightroom to automatically choose the optimum setting for your image with a single click.

Plus, where once you had to switch to Photoshop in order to create panoramas or HDR images, Lightroom now has the capability to do this as well. It can even create HDR panorama images too! Although its important to note that depending on your devices computing power it may struggle merging many images at once. On some occasions I have had to create two half panoramas and then merge them both together to get the final image I was after.

When to Use Photoshop To Edit Your Photos

While Lightroom may be all you need to use for a lot of your photography editing needs, sometimes it just doesn’t cut it. Sometimes you need a little bit more control over your editing capabilities and that is where Photoshop shines.

Photoshop is the next step in the editing workflow process when you realise that you need to do some more advanced retouching or editing. Maybe you want to remove some random people from the background of your landscape photo, make someone taller or add a cool gradient filter so that the image fades into nothingness. Whatever it is Photoshop can help you do that.

Or perhaps you’re more into making composite images, blending real life with fiction to create an image that is clearly not of this world but feels so real. Photoshop’s layers and masking tools are just what you need. True it may mean your editing takes a little longer but the ability to manipulate your images and blend multiple images into one spectacular image is definitely worth it.

Even though Lightroom does offer you the ability to create panoramas and HDR images you are also able to do it in Photoshop. This may be helpful if you are having trouble getting the panorama or HDR image to look like you want to in Lightroom, as Photoshop gives you bit of extra control.

While Lightroom and Photoshop have both been created with different needs and purposes in mind they both do work alongside each other. From starting out in Lightroom to organise and perform basic editing and batch editing through to switching to Photoshop for those more advanced editing tasks, creating composite images and combing with text and graphic vectors, each program fits nicely into the natural workflow of the photo editing process.

Want to learn more about Lightroom? Here’s our handy guide for Lightroom presets

Click on the following links if you would like to learn more about or purchase one of the program downloads:

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Lightroom

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You’ve got your creation exactly how you want it and now it’s time to save it. You want to save it as a PNG. However, when you go to save it, PNG does not appear in the list of file type options that you can choose. What do you do?  Shaking your fist at your computer in frustration will do little to resolve the problem. But you’re in luck because reading this article will offer you the answer.

Ready to find out what the trouble is?

PNG problems in Photoshop usually arise because a setting somewhere has changed. You might need to change the color mode, the bit mode of the image, use a different save method, remove any non-PNG allowed formatting or reset the preferences.

I will describe these in detail later but first we will need to discuss PNGs.

What Is a PNG?

If you’re trying to save a file as a PNG, you probably already have an idea of what this file type is good for. Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, we’ll explain PNG briefly here.

First of all, PNG is pronounced “ping” and it stands for Portable Network Graphics. As a file format, it is written .png and appears directly after the file name just like a JPEG or any other file type.

Advantages of Using a PNG File Format

There are a few reasons why PNG files are useful. Let’s look at them here.

Transparency Ability

This file format is particularly beloved by web designers for its ability to support transparent backgrounds as well as images with transparent parts or semi-transparent images. This is useful for creating logos and different types of dynamic website graphics.

Photographers also often use PNG files to create their watermarks. They can place their logo over the image with transparency so it doesn’t block the image beneath, yet ensures that the image can’t be stolen without the photographer’s name going along with it.

We should note that it is the only file format that supports transparency. If you need this feature and Photoshop won’t save as a PNG, this can be a huge frustration as it is your only option. But keep reading, because we’re going to help you fix that problem.

Lossless Compression

Additionally, PNG files employ a data reduction technique dubbed lossless compression. Just as it sounds, when you compress an image, it doesn’t lose any data.

This is great for when you want to resize images and have them look as sharp as the original. This is another reason why logo makers love this file type.

In contrast, JPEGs are lossy, which means that data is deleted when they are decompressed. However, because PNG files retain all the information, they can end up being quite large, which is why photographers typically stick with JPEG format for their images.

No Patent

Finally, PNG files are not patented and thus don’t require a license to be able to use them.

Working with PNG Files

It is easy to work with PNG files. They are a common file type and many programs are equipped to open them. This includes basic photo viewing programs as well as the big wig photo editing programs like Lightroom and Photoshop.

For more information about converting a JPEG image to PNG, check out this tutorial!

Creating PNG Files in Photoshop

In theory, creating and saving PNG files in Photoshop is a piece of cake. The most basic way is simply to use the ‘Save As’ feature. Go to File>Open>Save As. Choose PNG from the dropdown menu of file options and you’re all set.

While your file is now saved as a PNG, there is no transparency and the background hasn’t been removed, two of the most common reasons people use PNG files.

If you want to make the image transparent, simply select the background layer in the layers panel. Bring down the opacity until the image reached the desired transparency. Follow the same steps as above to save as a PNG and you’re good to go.

Last, but not least, you can also remove the background (i.e. make it completely transparent) to isolate the subject.

To do this, add a new layer (which Photoshop automatically adds as transparent). Bring this layer under the background layer and select it. You can also unlock the background layer and work with that if you aren’t nervous about making mistakes.

Select the magic wand and Photoshop will automatically select whatever it believes is the subject. Sometimes this works well. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to clean up the selection or make it yourself.

Once you’ve got your subject selected, head up to the menu and choose Select>Inverse. Hit delete and watch the background disappear and be replaced with the exciting checkboard design Photoshop uses to indicate transparency.

But…what happens when it doesn’t work? Many a Photoshop user has gone to save their file as a PNG, only to find that the PNG option doesn’t appear in the dropdown menu.

Luckily, there are a few things you can try.

Why Photoshop Doesn’t Let You Save PNG Files

First, let’s understand why Photoshop doesn’t let you save a PNG. In most cases, there is simply a setting somewhere that has been knocked out of whack.

For example, PNG files are intended for screen use. To that end, they don’t support the CMYK color mode used for printing. We’ll show you how to find this setting and what to change it too in just a moment.

It’s also possible that you may have changed a Photoshop preference that now interferes with the program’s ability to save PNG files. In more rare cases, you may have deleted necessary files, which means you’ll have to reinstall to fix the problem.

Additionally, in the 2018 version of the software, there is a confirmed bug when trying to use “Export as a PNG” instead of “Save as”.

Troubleshooting Saving PNG Files in Photoshop

Now that you understand some common reasons why Photoshop won’t save your file as a PNG, you might have a few ideas about how to save your image as a PNG.

Let’s get started troubleshooting!

Change the Color Mode

As we mentioned, CMYK color mode isn’t compatible with PNG files so the first step is to investigate this. Make a copy of the image and open a new document.

In the settings for your new document, look for the color mode. If it says CMYK, there’s a good chance this is the problem. Open the dropdown box and select RGB color. Paste your copied image into the new document and try the “save as” route once more.

Check the Bit Size

PNG files only support 8-bit or 16-bit/channel RGB. If your bit size has been changed to 32-bit, this could be your trouble. When you open up that new document to check the color mode, also check the bit size.

Open the dropdown menu and choose 8-bit or 16-bit and try to save again.

Remove Non-PNG Allowed Formatting

A simple way to remove all formatting issues is to hold down the option/alt key while selecting File>Save As. This handy shortcut will remove any non-PNG allowed formatting and saves a copy for you to work with.

Use a Different Save Method

A very simple method to get around Photoshop’s insistence on not saving your PNG is to use a different save method. Go to the File menu, but instead of going to the “save as” option, choose Save for Web instead.

You can also try exporting instead of saving. We mentioned earlier there is a bug with the 2018 version, so it may not work for you depending on what version of Photoshop you have. To try it go to File>Export>Export As and choose PNG there.

Reset Photoshop Preferences

It’s also possible at some point that you changed a Photoshop preference that is now interfering with your ability to save as a PNG. You can access the preferences by using the hotkeys Cmd+Alt+Shift on a Mac or Ctrl+Alt+Shift on Windows. Choose Photoshop and keep going until you get a prompt asking if you want to reset the preferences.

If you’re having trouble with the hotkeys, go the “slow” route instead. Go to Edit>Preferences>General. In the window, click on Reset Preferences on Quit. Then restart Photoshop (make sure you have your work saved as something first!).

Now try saving as a PNG again and see what happens.

Hallelujah, Your PNG Problems Have Been Resolved!

At least that’s what we hope you’re saying. PNG files are handy files that serve several important purposes and being able to save an image as a PNG in Photoshop often crops up as a necessary task.

We’ve scoured the Internet (okay mainly just the Adobe forums) to find all the ways you can fix this problem. We hope at least one of them works for you.

How’s the rest of your Photoshop experience going? Many people deal with the frustration of a slow brush tool in Photoshop? Check out how to fix brush lag in Photoshop here!

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The current climate is not ideal for many businesses, particularly photographers. Without an outlet for work, it’s easy to ruminate on how you’re going to weather the storm. Going without work is not an option for many photographers, so what are the alternatives?

Fortunately, there’s plenty you can do to pivot your business and retain your income. For example, increasing your number of income streams can help. You should also look at boosting your marketing efforts to help support your future income.

In this article, we’ll discuss the current state of photography work. We’ll then look at some ways to earn an income and why marketing is important right now!

It’s an understatement to say the global situation has not been kind to freelance photographers. While you might have already worked from home from time-to-time, this is practically now the only option available. In the future, this is likely to continue being the norm for the wider freelance and self-employed workforce.

Of course, there’s also an impact on the viability of traditional photography work. Given that all types of photography are deemed ‘non-essential,’ – and travel is no longer possible – the new reality requires you to pivot your approach to business.

However, this doesn’t mean you have to change everything about your business. All it entails is to adjust your focus to other aspects that have previously been dedicated less of your time. Updating your website and marketing your business are just two of these tasks.

As such, while it might seem like all hope is lost, right now is one of the best times to focus on other aspects of your business.

Adding new streams of income to your business is a great way to pivot, and is likely the first problem you’ll want to solve.

Of course, this is something you should consider at all times, not just during a crisis. New income streams can always potentially boost your revenue. Let’s look at some specifics.

1. Add E-Commerce to Your Website

Adding e-commerce streams is often a no-brainer, and gives you viable potential to earn at any time. Selling products and services can happen concurrently to your other work. It’s also easy to automate with the right tools.

We’d argue that e-commerce is also a relatively ‘safe’ income stream to implement. What’s more, the figures related to online shopping are astronomical – there are a projected 227 million online shoppers in America alone.

The first step here is to consider the products you will sell – prints are a simple way of dipping your toe into the water. Branded merchandise such as clothing is also a great idea, especially if there’s an image that connects with your audience.

As for setting up an e-commerce solution, WordPress plugins such as WooCommerce are popular. However, you’d need to handle printing and delivery.

Visual Society has full-featured e-commerce functionality, and can also help you print and ship products – perfect for when you need to get up and running yesterday.

2. Earn with Affiliate Marketing

You may not have considered affiliate marketing as a viable income stream, but it’s logical and viable, especially if you’re a blogger.

For the uninitiated, this is where you use dedicated links to track clicks. When certain actions are completed, you’ll receive a commission. Done organically and naturally, you can combine valuable content sprinkled with links to affiliate products.

There are different types of affiliate marketing, and some will work better than others. For example, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is ideal for links that generate an immense number of clicks. Pay-Per-Lead could work with partners that offer a product or service your readers are interested in, and Pay-Per-Sale is great for fundamental photography purchases.

To choose the right affiliate program, consider your target reader and blog content. For example, if you offer tips on editing photographs, affiliate links to editing software would be more successful. However, if you provide business-centric advice, an affiliate program like the one at Graph Paper Press might offer more return.

3. Create a Stock Photo Business

If you are interested in a more complicated income stream, you could create your own stock photo business. The customer base is wide-ranging, which makes stock photography a solid income stream.

While you could sell your photographs on other stock websites and marketplaces, the control you have is limited. Many dictate the pricing, royalty payments, and marketing of your photographs. You will also be one of thousands of photographers competing for attention.

Setting up your own stock photography business needs the right website layout first of all, along with a dedicated sales platform (as we discussed in the previous section.) Promotion is key for these types of businesses to be successful. Let’s quickly take a look at this next.

Marketing your photography business right now might seem pointless. However, this could be the perfect time to boost your profile, based on the insights of economic and marketing experts. On a basic level, increasing your visibility now could help people remember your business in the future.

If you’ve been implementing any of the income streams mentioned in this article, now is also a good time to market them!

We’re going to have more to say on marketing and promotion on the Visual Society blog over the coming weeks and months. However, consider the following as fundamental to your approach:

• Search Engine Optimization. Increase your organic clicks and visitors by tuning your website and its content.
• Social media. Getting a ‘viral’ post on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook is also going to bring potential new customers your way.

While these will give you a good head start in promoting your site, the right tools to implement them are essential. With these in place, you’ll be able to increase engagement, generate interest, and ultimately boost income, all while working from home.

Working as a photographer right now is going to be difficult, without a doubt. You can ease this by integrating new income streams into your business. However, pivoting your focus to marketing and promotion while your ‘gigs’ are non-existent could pay off big time in the future.

This post has considered both. Getting involved in e-commerce, affiliate marketing, and stock photography can be fruitful. However, there’s nothing like getting stuck into your marketing to line up business for the future. You could even combine both facets to maximise your opportunities.

Do you have any questions about working as a photographer in the current climate? Let us know in the comments section below!

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You have filled your iPhone with thousands and thousands of photos over the last few years. Its a nice catalog of memories but now its time to move on. You are looking for a quick and safe way to delete all the photos on your iPhone but dont know how.

Don’t despair. In this article we will tell you the ways you can use to do so as well as related tasks.

Below are the different scenarios you might encounter.  Read on to find the one you are facing and your solution.

How to Delete Multiple Photos

To delete multiple photos you would:

1. Open the Photos App

2. Select multiple photos

3. Tap the trash icon to delete them

 

How to Delete Thousands of Photos

Deleting thousands of photos this way may be a hassle. There is a quicker way:

1. Go to Albums view in Photos

2. Find an Album that contains the photos you want to delete

3. Tap on Select

4. Tap on Select All

5. Tap the trash icon

How to Quickly Delete all Photos from iPhone

1. Open the Photos App

2. Tap on Albums

3. Tap on All Photos

4. Tap Select

5. Tap the bottom photo then drag to the left and up to select all photos

6. Tap the Trash Icon

7. Confirm file deletion

How to Delete Photos on iPad

Deleting photos on your iPad is similar to deleting photos on your iPhone. To do so:

1. Tap Select

2. Tap and drag across all photos

3. Tap trash icon

4. To make space permanently, go to Recently Deleted and delete the files from there also

How Do I Delete All Photos from my Camera Roll

You will see Camera Roll on your device if you do not use iCloud service to backup your photos.  To delete all the photos from your camera roll:

1. Tap the Photos icon

2. Tap the Camera Roll

3. Tap the Share button

4. Select all the photos

5. Tap Delete

How To Delete All Videos

Deleting all the videos on your iPhone:

1.Open Camera App

2. View the Photo Library

3. Click Camera Roll

4. Select Videos

5. Tap on videos to Select them

6. Tap Delete

How to Undelete Accidentally Deleted Photos

Sometimes you delete photos accidentally and need to retrieve them. The good thing is they are held for quite a few days in your Recently Deleted Album. To get your deleted photos back:

1. Open your Photos App

2. Go to the Albums tab

3. Open the Recently Deleted album

4. Tap on Select

5. Tap the photos you want to keep

6. Tap Recover

Be Careful With iCloud Photos

ICloud Photos allows you to store your photos on the cloud to give you more storage space on your device. In this way, high resolutions versions of the images are stored on the Cloud and if you want to, smaller versions of the photos remain on your phone.

But do not forget that when you delete a photo on one device you own when you are signed in with your Apple ID, the photos will be deleted on all your other devices where the same Apple ID is used.

Checking Amount of Storage Left

Periodically or if you have any memory or transfer issues you should check how much storage you have available on your phone. When the storage is full you will get a message saying so. To check how much space you have simply go Settings/General/Storage.

To check how much device storage you have left:

1. Go to Settings

2. Tap on General

3. Tap on Storage

To check how much iCloud storage space you have left:

1. Tap on Settings

2. Tap (your name)

3. Tap on iCloud

If you find that deleting photos did not free up all the space you expected, it is because the first time you click on Delete, your photos are not actually permanently deleted, but rather moved to Recently Deleted, where they are kept for several weeks before disappearing completely.

To make a permanent deletion and save some real space, you need to:

1. Go to Album view

2. Scroll download

3. Tap on Recently Deleted

4. Select the photos again

5. Tap Delete again

Deleting Photos When Selling Your Phone

If you are deleting all the photos on your device because you are selling your phone, these methods are fine. However, in addition to deleting photos, you want to reset your phone which will restore device settings to factory as well as delete all other files that may pose a privacy threat. Do not worry, they are still backed up on iCloud to be accessible with your next phone.

Deleting iPhone Photos Using a Mac

If you have a Mac, you can delete any photos you want from it and the changes will be reflected on your phone. Here is how you do it:

1. Go to your Mac’s Photos app

2. Click a photo

3. Press “Command” + “A” to select all the photos

4. Click Backspace

Deleting iPhone Photos Using a PC

This is possible. To do so:

1. Plug your phone into the PC

2. Find your phone in Explorer

3. Go to the DCIM folder

4. Select photos to delete or Ctrl A to select all

5. Right click and Delete

Here is a video on deleting all photos in seconds:

I hope that this article has helped you with deleting your photos as well as other related tasks. Click here for an article on the best photography gadgets for your iPhone.

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Sourced by Time Trap Photography sharing the best photography tips, news and tricks throughout the industry.

Sourced by the Time Trap Photography guys https://ift.tt/1LW7xnO
Time Trap Photography is dedicated to freezing those special moments in life that can be revisited and admired for generations to come.