Bare Bones Frequency Separation

Frequency separation seems to be all the rage recently. It’s a very powerful tool to have in your bag of tricks when retouching. Here’s a short video that covers the formula to help you get started with frequency separation. It’s not as complicated as it may sound.

Frequency separation is a technique that can be used for a variety of different things, but the most common use is for retouching images for portrait, beauty, fashion, and editorial photography. Like any tool, it can be overused and it’s not a one stop shop for all your retouching needs. The key to using this technique is subtly, in my opinion. The above video is one I made for The Composite Creative.

What is Frequency Separation?

The technique involves breaking an image up into two separate parts. One part contains all the detail or texture information, while the other part will contain all the color information. This allows you to make targeted adjustments and corrections to color without affecting the detail of the image. And to make texture corrections while not affecting the color.

What are the steps?

Step 1:

Duplicate the base layer twice.Then rename the bottom layer to LOW. Rename the top layer to HIGH.

Step 2:

Hide the HIGH layer by clicking on the eyeball icon next to the layer in the layers panel. With the LOW layer selected, click on the EFFECTS tab. Go to BLUR and select GUASSIAN BLUR. Now you want to select a radius that blurs the finer details but still retains the color structure. There’s no one particular radius that will work for every image. You’ll just have to adjust till you get the desired amount of blur, then click OK.

Step 3:

Click the eyeball icon on the HIGH layer to make the layer visible again. With the HIGH layer selected, go to IMAGE tab and select APPLY IMAGE. This will bring up a window for you to adjust some settings and those settings will vary depending on whether you’re working on an 8 bit or 16 bit image.

8 Bit:

• Click the drop down menu to select your SOURCE layer. Select the LOW layer.


• Make sure the INVERT box is unchecked.


• Under BLENDING, click the dropdown menu and choose the blending mode of SUBTRACT.


• SCALE should be set to 2


• OFFSET should be set to 128

16 Bit:

• Click the dropdown menu to select your SOURCE layer. Select the LOW layer.


• Make sure the INVERT box is CHECKED.


• Under BLENDING, click the dropdown menu and choose the blending mode of ADD.


• SCALE should be set to 2


• OFFSET should be set to 0

Now click OK. Next, set the BLEND MODE of the HIGH layer to LINEAR LIGHT.

You should now your frequency separation complete. I would recommend adding a blank layer between your LOW and HIGH layers. You can do all our transition and color toning on that layer, which helps to keep this whole process as non-destructive as possible. Use a soft brush with a setting of 100% opacity and a flow of around 2-4%. Sample often, as explained in the video, and paint. You can target your texture work on the HIGH layer using the healing brush tool or any similar tool that suits your fancy. I personally like the healing brush tool.

Just remember, subtly is the key here. Let the effect build up slowly. You’ll have more control and better results. If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll answer as best I can.

Bare Bones Frequency Separation

IN THE STUDIO WITH SHADOWDOG PRODUCTIONS

If you haven’t heard of Dexter Goad and ShadowDog Productions, then I recommend you take a moment to check them out. Dexter is a writer and filmmaker that produces audio plays and films. On top of that, he’s a very funny guy and I’ve been fortunate to call him a friend for almost ten years now. He’s very active on Twitter. You can follow him here.

Over the weekend, Dexter invited me to join a cast of other voice actors at Satalite Recording Studios near Charlotte, NC to record for his next slew of audio plays. Of course, I accepted and I brought my camera along with me. How could I not? What followed was a ton of fun had by all. Enjoy the images from behind the scenes.

IN THE STUDIO WITH SHADOWDOG PRODUCTIONS

Hilarious Take On Why Some Tutorials Are Annoying

The internet is loaded with a wealth of tutorials in almost any field. And so much of that information can be had for free. That’s the beauty of it. Unfortunately, that’s also the pitfall. Not all tutorials are created equal.

If you’re like me, you’ve proably gathered a large chunk of your post production knowledge from video tutorials found somewhere on the web. Some are long. Some are short and sweet. In this fast paced world, most of our time is taken up with so many other tasks. Our time is a precious resource. That pressure can lead you to want to find an answer right away. So fuss. No fluff.  Just give it to me straight. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. We scrub through the video in hopes of finding the right moment, the magical spot, that will give us the answer. The struggle is real, folks. I couldn’t help but chuckle at this video. It perfectly captures what it’s like to suffer through some of the worst videos out there while you’re waiting for the answer to that one burning question.

Hilarious Take On Why Some Tutorials Are Annoying

IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT ANNOUNCES INSTANT FILM CAMERA

IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT AND THE INSTANT FILM CAMERA REBITH

The insanely awesome folks over at Impossible Project have announced their all new instant film camera, and I have to say it sounds amazing. Impossible Project are the folks that have been bringing you film for your Polaroid instant cameras and even the ability to make Polaroid prints right off your phone.

They’re calling this nifty, funky looking camera the I-1. It looks like a sleek, modern black pyramid on top of a traditional Polaroid looking base. There only appears to be a few buttons though. Not that you would expect more on this type of camera. One of the most interesting looking features is the LED ring flash around the lens. You won’t find that on your grandpa’s Polaroid. Apparently the flash will automatically adjust to the ambient light and the distance to the subject.

Despite the retro styling and the modern ring flash, the I-1 has a nice modern feature set. There’s a companion app that allows you to take control of the shutter speed, aperature, and flash settings. Not only that, you can even trigger the camera remotely. The I-1 also charges via USB to keeping it powered should be very easy.

Impossible Project says the I-1 will be available to purchase May 10. The price point is $299, which isn’t too terrible considering that the Fuji Instax is $130 and you don’t get the kind of control the I-1 is promising.

I’m looking forward to this camera and will probably get my hands on one when it’s released.

IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT ANNOUNCES INSTANT FILM CAMERA

The Hip Kodak Super 8MM Camera

KODAK SUPER 8MM CAMERA

Kodak CEO, Jeff Clark, talks with The Verge’s Sean O’Kane about Kodak’s new 8MM film camera, how it works, why J.J. Abrams loves it and why exactly the company is going retro.

“ANALOGUE RENAISSANCE”

Personally, I love the idea of this new camera. What’s not to love? It seems that Kodak is hoping to usher in a new “analogue renaissance” with this camera. I can honestly see that happening. Super 8 got it’s start as the official home movie media of the ’60s, and it’s still alive today.

That unmistakeable look and feel of film is now once again available. Kodak has built an entire echo system for the Super 8 camera. You shoot, they process, scan, and deliver. The camera itself hasn’t changed much since the first release, except for one major factor. The camera now has an LCD swivel viewfinder which will help with nailing exposure. There’s also a built in light meter. Currently, there are only two lenses available and I haven’t seen any others rumored yet. There’s a fixed 6mm and an 8-48mm zoom. Both of which should confortably provide you with everything you need to shoot your next film.

I’m excited about this camera. My mind is spinning with ideas for films, short and feature length, that I could possibly shoot. One extra little nugget of information is that this camera is not terribly priced, in my opinion. I believe the base price is $400 and will go up to around $750, but I’m not completely certain. The price of the film isn’t outlandish either when you consider that includes the processing, scanning, and delivery. Why wouldn’t you want to experiment with this medium?

Also, I think I read somewhere that there will be some fun competitions once the camera is released. The Super 8mm should be released some time this year. You can find more information on Kodak’s Super 8 hybrid camera and accessories here.

Cheers!

The Hip Kodak Super 8MM Camera

Understanding Depth of Field & Lens Equivalents

WHAT IS DEPTH OF FIELD?

Check out this fantastic 18-minute educational video from Filmmaker IQ on depth of field and its relationship to lenses  and sensor size.

FILMMAKER IQ

I recently discovered Filmmaker IQ a couple of months back while perusing the interwebs in search of some post-production tutorials. The guys over at Filmmaker IQ are great. The lessons are easy to understand and informative. They’ve got a set of other videos related to this one. The Science of Camera Sensors, The History and Science of Lenses, and The Features and Properties of Lenses will entertain your inner geek. Not to mention give you a helpful dose of “know-how”.

If you like Filmmaker IQ, check out their website for more mind tingling articles and videos here. It never hurts to have great source of reference material.

Understanding Depth of Field & Lens Equivalents

U Koala Bag Promo Shoot

This week I shot a promo for U Koala Bag. Mayan, the designer, is based out of Charlotte, NC, and she’s quite the character. Very bubbly, friendly, and always welcoming. We met at the AWA Convention in Atlanta this past September. Not only did Mandy and I have a blast at the convention, but I scored a gig from it too. Some times it pays to let your geek flag fly. For more info on her bags click here.

WHAT IS THE U KOALA BAG?

Mayan designs versitile utility bags. You might remember this style of drop waist bag from the ’80s. As they say, everything old is new again. There are multiple pouches of  different sizes. The bags come in different types of materials. Some, like mine, are water resistant. So for those outdoorsy types, you might just like that. When I saw these bags, I immediately could see how handy they could be for someone in the entertainment industry. Or rather, someone working behind the scenes. Both Mandy and I ended up getting a couple bags after we returned home.

The bags can be worn in a number of different ways. You can wear it as a sling, over the shoulder, or, my personal favorite, a drop waist bag. Pretty much all of the bags come with adjustable straps that will allow you to further secure the bag to your body.

MY THOUGHTS ON U KOALA BAG…

What I found was that they are actually pretty handy for daily use. Not totally sure I would use them every day, but I could see and have used my bag pretty often. I like having a small book in which I jot down ideas, but hated carrying it in one of my pockets. These U Koala Bags gave me the opportunity to carry a book, pens, my wallet, a charger for my phone and tablet, and anything else I might need. Pretty nifty. This really paid off on a recent shoot.

I helped a friend on a recent shoot by doing some BTS images for his short film. I saw this as an opportunity to try out the bag in a work atmostphere. I had my sling camera bag with the usual items in it, but then threw batteries, a speedlight, a Leatherman, notebook, pens, Sharpie, and a few other items into it. This proved to be a great option while running around outdoors at night snapping photos. Aside from that, I could see this bag being great for travel too.

THE SHOOT

We met a couple times on returning to Charlotte to discuss the plans for the shoot. We knew she needed some lifestyle images, product shots, and a portrait or two. Seems like all in a day’s work, right? We planned on doing a whole slew of different kinds of lifestyle images, but eventually decided on the biker/motorcycle theme.

I wrangled a friend and his custom motorcyle for the shoot and Mandy did some modeling as well. This was her first time on a motorcyle and you can tell from one of the images that she’s crazy excited.

Cheers!

U Koala Bag Promo Shoot