Film Construction welcomes consummate food and beverage photographer Manja Wachsmuth to its photography roster. Manja has won awards and fans with her impeccable Scandinavian sense of elegant composition, currently listed as a Lürzer’s Archive top 200 Ad photographer. Manja creates masterful food photography—captivating product shots, expressive portraiture and lifestyle imagery that intrigues.

Danish-born but now resident in Auckland, Manja’s work is a testament to photographic power. From darkroom beginnings to culinary artistry, she has become a master of precision and purpose in commercial photography. Especially food and all its intricacies.

Manja believes in the profound impact of beautiful photos and compelling narratives.

“Beautiful photos last. They tell your story year after year, through trends and seasons, failure and success. They shine with you. It’s easy to think that any photo will do, but that’s as untrue as any meal or any wine will do. I believe in beautiful photos.” said Manja.

Manja has etched her name as a sought-after photographer for food and beverage projects. But her diverse portfolio includes people, objects, landscapes, and interiors. Her work captures the beauty and authenticity of her subjects, and each is imbued with the luminance of her homeland. Manja is also known to push the boundaries of food photography with evocative projects such as ‘Beautiful Decay’ and ‘The Bug Project’.

“We are thrilled to welcome Manja Wachsmuth to our roster,” said executive producer Belinda Bradley. “Film Construction has caused excitement with the continued growth of our roster. Manja’s addition only amplifies that sentiment. Her portfolio is magnificent, and she is lovely to work with. That aligns perfectly with our vision for what our company brings to the industry – quality work with quality people. Manja embodies that essence.”

Manja has etched her name as a sought-after photographer for food and beverage projects. But her diverse portfolio includes people, objects, landscapes, and interiors. Her work captures the beauty and authenticity of her subjects. And each is imbued with the luminance of her homeland.

Collaborating with top chefs, artisan producers, and lifestyle brands, her photography delves into the heart of her subjects with an unwavering commitment to authenticity.

View Manja’s captivating online portfolio here.

ABOUT GUESTS:

Isaac Wingfield

Isaac Wingfield grew up in the mountains of Western NC. During his undergraduate education at Appalachian State University (Boone, NC), he completed a two-year interdisciplinary program through Appalachian’s Watauga College. This interdisciplinary approach deeply altered his way of thinking about the world, and photography as part of that world. After spending a year in New York City working for the photojournalism agency Magnum Photos he completed his Master of Fine Arts at Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI).

He is currently based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and teaches photography in the Residential College, an interdisciplinary liberal arts program at the University of Michigan. His interests include landscape culture and outdoor recreation, roads and highways, prisons and mass incarceration, and using the photographic process to obscure rather than reveal.

José Burgos

Former juvenile lifer—went to prison at age 16 with a “life without parole” sentence. Came home at age 43, after serving 27 years.

Criminal justice reform advocate; member of ICAN (Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network); member of NLC (National “Life Without Parole” Leadership Council) working towards ending life without parole sentencing.

RESOURCES:

Humanize the Numbers

TRANSCRIPTION:

David Fair: This is 89 one WEMU. And, here at the station, we’ve often discussed the communal importance of art to our quality of life. Today, we’re going to look at that through a bit of a different lens. I’m David Fair, and I’d like to welcome you to this week’s edition of Washtenaw United. It is our weekly exploration of equity and opportunity. It’s often difficult for any of us to find our purpose and path forward. Imagine exploring those options while behind bars. How do you access those opportunities–those dreams–while incarcerated? Well, it takes a different mindset and avenue. The Prison Creative Arts Project at the University of Michigan is working with some who are incarcerated and has a program called “Humanize the Numbers.” And we have two guests with us today. The first is with us in studio. Isaac Wingfield is a lecturer in photography at the University of Michigan and with the Humanize the Numbers Project. And thank you for being here, Isaac. I appreciate it.

Isaac Wingfield: Yeah, thanks for having me.

David Fair: And our second guest today joins us by phone, José Burgos, who’s a reentry specialist with the Michigan State Appellate Defender’s Office. José is also a member of the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network and National Life Without Parole Leadership Council. That works towards ending life without parole sentencing. And, José, you came to this line of work the hard way, didn’t you?

José Burgos: Yes, I did. Yes, I did. And thank you for having me.

David Fair: Well, José is a formal juvenile lifer, having been sentenced to life without parole at the age of 16. But he was released after serving 27 years of his sentence. And, José, how did you come to the Humanize the Numbers project?

José Burgos: When I was at the facility, I was at the Thumb Correctional Facility, they had actually put up a posting in the unit–in the housing unit there–about the program. They didn’t have a lot of details of what the program was. But, just that, you know, with the program, there was, you know, through PCAB at the University of Michigan. And so, they asked the participants who signed up. And so, I signed up. And a lot of people signed up, but it was a limited number of people who actually got into the program. [00:02:03][25.5]

David Fair: So, Isaac, if you could describe the broad mission of the project for me.

Isaac Wingfield: Humanize the Numbers is really about allowing the voices of the men in prison to, I guess, allowing them to express themselves, allowing them to share a little bit of their story with the hope that folks outside of prison will begin to see and understand what’s kind of hidden behind prison walls a little bit better.

David Fair: Specifically, there is an external and public facing component to this project and an internal component for those that are incarcerated themselves. How do you give to both sides of that?

Isaac Wingfield: Yeah, well, I think when the workshop’s happening, the focus is really on what’s happening in that space, You know, working with the men who are in prison, giving them a space to kind of exist for a brief moment, a little bit outside the kind of normal confines of how prison day-to-day life operates. That’s, I think, when we’re in, when we’re making pictures, when we’re working together, when we’re having conversations, that’s really our focus is on doing what we can to make that experience and the opportunity to be creative and to do something out of the ordinary, really as meaningful as possible. And then, once that’s done, we start thinking about, you know, where those images can go. And that’s some of the conversations that we have during the workshop is who is it that the men that are there making images, who do they think these images need to be seen by? Who do their stories need to be heard by?

David Fair: And, José, through this project and through your participation, did you learn something about yourself that perhaps you hadn’t recognized before?

José Burgos: I guess more so, like, the creativity of it. So, when we first got into the program, we went to the visiting room and, you know, once they explained that we were using photography, but, you know, you’re so limited to what they can bring in. So, we were, like, “Well, what are we going to use? What kind of products are going to use?,” since we didn’t know the extent of how these photos were going to come out. So, I guess just the creativity, you know, how to, you know, speak or send a message out just based on, you know, seeing photography. Know what I’m saying? And so, we never looked at it from from that standpoint to be able to send a message to photography. You know, for us, it was just, you know, we take pictures, and that was just it. But we didn’t know how powerful images can be into stories that images can tell.

David Fair: Upon reflection, what message do you think you were sending with the pictures you chose to take?

José Burgos: Um, you know, because I was a juvenile lifer, I think one of the things that I wanted to do was I wanted to tap in to the 16-year-old who went through what he went through. Know what I’m saying? And, you know, my message to the world was like, “I’m more than just a number.” I’m just like the name of the program Humanize the Numbers. Like, I wanted the world to see me for who I was as a person, opposed to just that number that I was given based on, you know, a 15-second mistake that I made in my life at an early age. So, that’s basically the message that I was trying to convey.

David Fair: This is Washtenaw United on 89 one WEMU, and we’re talking with José Burgos and Isaac Winfield about the Humanize the Numbers project that comes out of the University of Michigan’s Prison Creative Arts project. And, Isaac, this is also an opportunity to take University of Michigan students into a prison system. What reaction and what impact does that have?

Isaac Wingfield: It’s a really profound impact for those students. The class is small, so there’s only a few students going in each time. But for those students that do go in, you know, some of them have experience in photography and some of them have experience studying the criminal legal system. But it’s pretty unusual to have students who have had that kind of direct experience with it going in and talking face-to-face with people who are living that as their day-to-day experience and have for years, if not decades.

David Fair: And, Isaac, you get to take these photos and these artworks out into the community in a variety of different ways and venues. I know some of the photos and artwork created by those in the project were on display at this summer’s Ann Arbor Art Fair. What was the reaction at the booth from those who stopped to take a look?

Isaac Wingfield: It got a really great, positive reaction. There are folks–a lot of folks–who came through and saw it, and I think there are a number of folks every day that were brought to tears as they’re looking through the images there and reading some of the stories. So, I think it’s really profoundly impactful for folks to be able to see and to start to think about something that they probably have not encountered before.

David Fair: Have you had that personal reaction yourself? Have you been brought to tears or moved deeply by the stories that are told?

Isaac Wingfield: Yeah, definitely. I mean, the class itself is a lot of work. It’s so much easier to teach a course on campus at the university than it is to take it an hour and 10 minutes into a secure facility. But, for me, getting to see and getting to know and hear the stories of the men who are in prison, that’s a huge part of why I continue doing it.

David Fair: Once again, we’re talking about the University of Michigan’s Humanize the Numbers project with Isaac Wingfield and José Burgos. And I do want to get a little more personal with you, José . While you were incarcerated, did you feel seen or did you even feel human in your 27 years locked up?

José Burgos: Not really, because just the way, you know, your day-to-day are, you know, in prison. One of the things, you know, staff there, you know, they’re to do a job. They definitely disconnect themselves from, you know, from having any type of human compassion for those that they’re they’re with. And I wish it wasn’t that way, but it was. Know what I’m saying?

David Fair: What was the crime you were convicted of?

José Burgos: It was a homicide case.

David Fair: So, understanding that we are looking to humanize this entire experience, the family and friends may very well resent that you did not have to serve out your life sentence. Clearly, you’ve made a turn, and you’re contributing to community and valuable ways. But, perhaps, they feel like now your actions reduced their loved one to a number or statistic. How do you come to terms with that and move forward?

José Burgos: I think, really, you know, the person who I become, the work that I’m doing, like, literally, when I went back as a juvenile lifer and got re-sentenced, I told the judge that I wanted something good to come out of this bad situation that we got into. And I’m doing it. I’m doing it. You know, I’ve been home now going on five years, and every single day of my life since I’ve been home, this is what I’ve been doing. I’ve been helping others who are coming from prison to make sure that they have everything they need, so that they don’t go back. S,o that keeps our community safe. I mentor other other juvenile lifers who have already been out here, but, periodically, may need a phone card, you know, to keep them on the right path or just some encouragement. So, I’m living my life. I know that what I did, I’ll never be able to, you know, undo what would have happened. Know what I’m saying? But I am in charge of what happens afterwards. You know what I’m saying? And so, I wanted something good to come out of that situation. And I think I’m doing that on a daily basis.

David Fair: And, Isaac, as you work in this project, do you see art as a viable bridge to helping society change some of its perception of the men and women in our prison system?

Isaac Wingfield: Absolutely. I think that any time we can start to be exposed to other people’s perspectives and see things through someone else’s eyes, that can open our own way of thinking about, you know, what it is that we’re doing when we’re sending people off in to the prison system without thought for the rest of their lives. And it’s easy to do that, as a society, without necessarily thinking about the personal impact on not just the people who are being sent to prison, but also their families, their communities that are being torn apart in the process.

David Fair: Well, I think we have a lot to think about after our conversation today. I’d like to thank both of you for coming and sharing your stories.

Isaac Wingfield: Thanks so much.

José Burgos: Thank you. Thank you very much.

David Fair: That is José Burgos and Isaac Wingfield. José is a reentry specialist with the Michigan State Appellate Defender’s Office, and Isaac is a photography lecturer at the University of Michigan working on the Humanize the Numbers project. For more information on the project and to see some of the artwork, visit our website at WEMU dot org. Washtenaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way of Washtenaw County and presented every Monday. I’m David Fair, and this is your community NPR station 89 one WEMU.

UWWC STATEMENT

Our Criminal Justice System is known to be made up of several inequities and injustices. Criminal legal reform addresses structural issues in criminal legal systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism.

These structural issues result in Black and brown people, people with low incomes, and people with mental illness being incarcerated at higher rates as compared to the general population.

Why criminal legal reform? The United States incarcerates its citizens more than any other country (source). Today, nearly 10 million Americans—including millions of children—have an immediate family member in jail or prison. More than 4.5 million Americans can’t vote because of a past conviction.

And each year, we lose $87 billion in GDP due to mass incarceration. In Washtenaw County, those numbers are smaller, but the impact on opportunity and life potential is real. According to recently available data, over 1,000 people are incarcerated in our local prison; these individuals are predominantly Black and brown.

Watch this panel discussion from the Dispute Resolution Center and Friends of Restorative Justice in Washtenaw County about the intersectionality of mental disorders, incarceration, and restorative justice featuring Derrick Jackson of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office and State Rep. Felicia Brabec.

WEMU has partnered with the United Way of Washtenaw County to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is ‘Washtenaw United.’

Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support.  Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.

Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org

2023 European Photography Awards Full Results Announced

2023 European Professional Photographer of the Year – Ghost of Asano by Jatenipat Ketpradit

2023 European Amateur Photographer of the Year – Resilient mothers by João Coelho

The International Awards Associate (IAA), in partnership with the European Photography Awards, proudly announces the results of the 2023 competition.

BERLIN, BE, GERMANY , August 21, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — The International Awards Associate (IAA), in partnership with the European Photography Awards, proudly announces the results of the 2023 competition. This prestigious contest, open to photographers worldwide, honours the artists who capture the vibrant diversity and cultural heritage seen across the globe. This year, the competition drew remarkable attention, receiving a striking 3,300 submissions from 50 nations, including Germany, Italy, the United States, Switzerland, Australia, France, Portugal, Japan, Spain, and beyond, underscoring its global appeal and impact.

2023 European Photographers of the Year
After meticulous review of an impressive array of submissions, the European Photography Awards is delighted to unveil its distinguished Photographers of the Year for 2023. Jatenipat Ketpradit of Thailand earns the title of Professional Photographer of the Year with his captivating piece, “Ghost of Asaro,” and will receive a $3,000 cash prize. João Coelho of Portugal is celebrated as the Amateur/Student Photographer of the Year for their evocative work, “Resilient Mothers,” earning a $2,000 cash prize.

1. Professional Photographer of the Year – Ghost of Asaro by Jatenipat Ketpradit
2. Amateur/Student Photographer of the Year – Resilient mothers by João Coelho

2023 Category Winners for the Year
Beyond the coveted Photographer of the Year distinction, the European Photography Awards celebrates a diverse range of talents spanning multiple categories. With a commitment to highlighting excellence in every niche, the award is set on honouring standout photographers in both professional and amateur/student categories. Each of these maestros has left an indelible mark and will be duly recognised with a cash prize of $100 to further fuel their passion and craft.

Category Winners of the Year (Professional)
1. Italy Photography – 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas by Robin Yong
2. Germany Photography – A Journey to the Self by Marlena Wels
3. France Photography – Boxing club n°1 by Christophe Demigné
4. Architecture Photography –Tadawul #2 by Gerry O’Leary
5. Editorial Photography – Ukraine:The Terror of War by Daniel Ceng
6. Fine Art Photography – Wonderful Moment by Shihao Li
7. Nature Photography – Great White by Brice Weaver
8. People Photography – Survive in Katanga by John T. Pedersen
9. Black & White Photography – Water & Light by Liza Heinrichs
10. Special Photography – The Last Feed. by Kazutoshi Kawakami

Category Winners of the Year (Amateur/Student)
1. Italy Photography – Mountains of Fire by Andrea Sagui
2. Germany Photography – Elina-2 by Bodo Gebhardt
3. Commercial Photography – You And ALL The Seasons by Andy Whale
4. Architecture Photography – Winged by Anna Wacker
5. Editorial Photography – The end of the line by João Coelho
6. Nature Photography – Love is by Alexander Seleznyov
7. People Photography – Jigong by MingLun Tsai
8. Black & White Photography – Fire in my heart by Mariko Okubp
9. Special Photography – The Kranzbach by Mark Tomalla

“This season’s submissions have brilliantly showcased the pinnacle of global photographic artistry, reflecting a symphony of vision and technique,” declared Thomas Brandt, the spokesperson for IAA. “Evaluating and commending such exceptional works has been a rewarding challenge for our esteemed panel of jurors.”

Grand Jury Panel
The European Photography Awards maintains a gold standard when it comes to the selection of its jurors, upholding the contest’s high standard of integrity and prestige. Notable members include Donell Gumiran (United Arab Emirates), Benny Lau (Hong Kong S.A.R., China), Gigi Chung (United States), Dawid Galinski (Iceland), Alessandra Minotti (Italy), and Pinu Rahman (Bangladesh), to name a few, each contributing unique expertise and passion to the evaluation process.

“Presenting these awards is more than a recognition; it is a celebration of contemporary photographic excellence,” declared Thomas Brandt. “As the European Photography Awards builds its legacy, we envision a future where our honourees continually redefine and elevate the world of visual artistry.”

Kindly visit the European Photography Awards’ official website for the complete list of award winners: https://europeanphotoawards.com/.

In addition to the recent conclusion of the European Photography Awards, its sister award – the New York Photography Awards, is now actively seeking submissions. This prestigious event warmly welcomes international photographic talents to showcase exceptional masterpieces, providing ample opportunity for global photographers to shine.

About European Photography Awards
The European Photography Awards is an international photography competition, that recognises exquisite and artistic content, honouring vast arrays of genres in the photographic medium, extending the reaches of photographical talents all across the globe.

About International Awards Associate (IAA)
Established in 2015, the International Awards Associate (IAA) is a global organization that is dedicated to recognizing professional excellence and outstanding achievements in various industries. As the organizer of a wide range of prestigious award programs such as the MUSE Creative Awards, MUSE Design Awards, Vega Digital Awards, NYX Awards, NYX Game Awards, TITAN Business Awards, TITAN Property Awards, London Design Awards, NY Product Design Awards, and many more, IAA aims to honour, promote and encourage professional excellence, from industry to industry, internationally and domestically, through award platforms that are industry appropriate.

Tyler K.
International Awards Associate Inc.
tyler@iaaawards.org
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Lillianne Sharp discovered her passion for photography in 2018 in Fort Myers, Florida, in and started her own business shortly after. Through Lillianne Sharp Photography, she began taking photos of her kids, soon venturing to host sessions for family and friends. 

Sharp moved to Owensboro in 2021, working towards her passion for capturing the beauties of motherhood and family. She offers year-round sessions in homes or outdoors at a local park and offers artwork and prints in conjunction with the sessions.

“I love all things motherhood and have specialized in maternity and newborn photography,” Sharp said. “I love capturing the beauty and love that pregnancies and babies bring to a family. While I specialize in maternity and newborn, I love to capture families year after year and see those little ones grow.”

Sharp noted that she’s especially passionate about photographing breastfeeding, and she puts on an annual project where she gathers mothers and children to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week

“Even after moving to Owensboro in 2021, I continue to host yearly group breastfeeding sessions in July. Those have almost become my signature event,” she said.

Sharp takes great pride in getting to know each family and understanding the individual dynamics that make them unique. 

“I strive to capture the love and bond each family shares and focus on those little moments that seem to pass all too quickly,” Sharp said. “As a mom of four boys, I know all too well how quickly they grow and how their love of dinosaurs gets forgotten in the world of Minecraft.”

She also cherishes being a part of the Owensboro business community and appreciates the kindness and support the community extends. 

“Being part of the Owensboro community means supporting one another, and Owensboro has been the best community we could have moved to,” she said. “Everyone here supports and cares for their neighbor, and that’s what it’s all about.”

To learn more about Lillianne Sharp Photography, visit lilliannesharpphotography.com, or search the business name on Facebook and Instagram. 

The Chamber Member of the Week program is a Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce membership benefit. Founded in 1913, the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce has worked to provide valuable benefits and services to member businesses and individuals for over a century.

Today, with a membership base of nearly 1,000, the Chamber is a guiding force in community and business development initiatives, serving as the center of business advocacy for the Greater Owensboro region. 

To learn more about becoming the Chamber Member of the Week or inquire about Chamber membership, contact Shelly Nichols, Chamber Vice President, at 270-926-1860 or [email protected].

This is part two of a two part series on editing wildlife images. You can see part one, from last week, here. 

White balance

For most of our wildlife photography we set our cameras to Auto White Balance. We might occasionally go off-piste with something funky like a tungsten setting to create a blue hour effect, but generally AWB gives us a good starting point. 

Shooting in RAW means we can then adjust the white balance in Lightroom without damaging the image quality.

AWB often needs a little tweaking with the Temp slider. Animals shot in shadow, for example, might benefit from some gentle warming to remove excessive blueness.  As always restraint is the key to a natural looking image here. You’re never going to generate a convincing golden hour effect just by cranking up the white balance to eleven.

So too with Tint, which we use occasionally, for example if an image looks a little too magenta, although never more than +/- 10 and usually less. We rarely use the White Balance Selector (eyedropper) to neutralise our tones, it works very well with many photographic genres, but with nature images it can remove precisely the warmth of light we’re trying to capture. 

Exposure

We tend to do our exposure adjustments in the Basic tab, rarely using the Tone Curve tab.  Generally, we’d hope to have made a reasonable exposure in-camera, so the Exposure slider will need only a little adjustment, if any – certainly no more than 0.25 stops either way.

The exceptions are where we’re looking for a high or low- key effect when a more radical exposure adjustment is called for.

We’d hope to get this about right in-camera, but with challenging subjects like, for example, white swans on a misty lake, judging the right amount of over-exposure to achieve the required effect is tricky in the field when you don’t always have time to bracket your shots.

If we’re subtle with the Exposure slider, we’re much more assertive with the highlights, shadows, whites and blacks.  Whites and highlights work in tandem, we’ll often increase whites significantly to punch up the Raw file, but decrease the highlights to avoid them burning out. 

Many animals and birds have bright tones that can easily blow out – white feathers and fur, shiny horns or muzzles. So while we might add +50 or more to the whites, we’ll sometimes drop the highlights by as much as -100. 

Shadows and blacks similarly operate in tandem, so opening up the shadows by moving the slider to the right often demands a slight decrease in the black, to maintain sufficient contrast. 

Our shadows and blacks adjustments tend to be more restrained than our whites and highlights, not least because brightening the dark tones too much can add substantial noise.  We’d rarely adjust either by more than +/- 15.

All the while we’re adjusting tones we keep an eye on the clipping warning triangles in the top corners of the histogram.  For publishing purposes it’s inadvisable for the tonal range to extend right to the limits in most cases, so if we see a clipping warning we’ll pull the sliders back in a little.

We rarely use the Contrast slider – it’s a bit too rough and ready. We much prefer to target our adjustments .

Presence

The presence sliders are a big temptation, offering enticing image ‘enhancements’ but flirting with the danger of excess.  Who wouldn’t want more clarity in their subject, more texture in fur and feathers? But this is where it’s very easy to make the real world appear unreal.  

We’ll often add a little Clarity, perhaps +10, but rarely more than +15.  And if we’re adding clarity, we’ll often use masking to apply it just to the animal, preferring to leave the background softer. 

The Texture slider isn’t something we generally tend to adjust, to our taste it rarely enhances natural subjects. Dehaze we also rarely use, though applied locally through masking it can sometimes help reduce the softening effect of an out of focus foreground object like a leaf across the subject.

RAW files often need the colour enhancing a little, but be wary with natural subjects not to overdo it. Vibrance is another of those sliders that’s often abused, making green grass too emerald, water too blue.

We’ll often apply a little positive Vibrance, but generally no more than +10.  And we’re tentative with the Saturation slider, which, like the Contrast slider, can be a bit too broad brush for most things.

Selective adjustments to make your subject pop

Lightroom has powerful masking tools which allow for selective adjustments within the image and used carefully can really make your subject sing.

In masks, the Brush tool is probably the most useful, allowing us to ‘dodge and burn’ our image by applying tonal adjustments to specific areas. It can also be good for applying a little extra sharpening to key areas such as eyes, though as we’ll discuss later, we prefer sharpening outside of Lightroom.  

Generally, we use the brush with a lot of feathering, only using a hard-edged brush for small, well-defined details like eyes.  As well as enhancing the overall balance of tones in different parts of the image, the brush tool is also useful for dulling down distracting highlights, such as bright rocks, branches or glimmers of sky among foliage. 

The Select Subject function works very well but rather than use it to enhance the subject, we’ll often invert the selection (click on the three dots for this option) and adjust the background instead. 

Subtle changes to subdue the background, such as reducing Clarity a little, making it a little darker or lighter and dampening distracting highlights, all can help make the subject animal ‘pop’.

We’ll further refine this technique occasionally by not only inverting the subject selection to select the background, but also intersecting this selection with a linear gradient, dropped down from the top of the image.

By then applying a Clarity reduction, it’s possible to emulate focus drop-off, reducing the clarity most at distance, but progressively less as you get nearer the subject’s plane of focus. 

This can be a powerful way of making the animal stand-out in situations where you perhaps needed quite a lot of depth of field to make your subject sharp throughout, but in doing so rendered the background intrusively in-focus.

The degree to which you apply these selective adjustments to enhance your image will depend on your end use – you may need to be less bold with an image destined for competition, for example.

But whatever the end use, try to exercise restraint and as a guide ask yourself whether someone would be surprised if they saw the RAW file of your processed image.

Look out for the final part next week.