Depth is one of very powerful tools in your photography tool box if you know how to use it to make your photos stand out even more. Depth adds dimensions, expands a photo visually, enhances the story telling, adds movement and helps the capture the viewer's attention for much longer, by creating a visual puzzle. Depth can be achieved by use of many techniques. One of them would be simply photographing your subject in a way that the background is visible but not detracting, still reading and adding to the story but not in an overpowering manner. The Other way would be working with contrast, sharpness and saturation, which can be done in post production, but not only. If you know or can control your light while shooting, those three elements can be captured on camera and then enhanced even further in photoshopp or lightroom.  You can achieve depth via other means, such as motion blur, compositing photos, photo manipulations, and so on. Naturally capturing as much as you can on camera will help a great deal, so whenever you are out there shooting, try not to focus only on your subject, but also what is in front of it, behind it, on each side, and also on what is about to enter or leave the frame. 

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Selection tools are very important and useful for almost any photo editing. Starting with simple and basic selections made with a rectangular marquee tool through a bit more complex magnetic lasso tool to an advanced options such as pen tool or channel based selections, selection tools are a bread and butter of my daily work in photoshop, regardless whether I am editing an image or working on a complex photoshop manipulation. This video is aimed at beginners and it is a second in the series. I talk about selection tools and cover all necessary functions needed for basic retouching. More advanced videos will follow, including separate chapters for channels, pen tool, and more complex functions of basic selection tools, such as perspective warp, which was introduced in photoshop CS6. There are many videos onlien regarding photoshop, but I know how difficult is to find one ways around when you open the photoshop for the first time. I hope this series will make it easier for you. Stay tuned for upcoming videos in the beginners series. In new episodes I will be explaining how to use editing tools, vector tools, remaining tools, how to work on layers, and there also will be a separate video on adobe camera RAW basic functions. For more free photoshop tutorials feel free to view my YouTube channel.

My Youtube channel with free photoshop tutorials
Photography workshops in Tokyo - click for more details.
Hire a photographer in Tokyo
Buy original Chinese and Japanese calligraphy art
Check out my new portrait photography services in Tokyo website! 

You can purchase all of my books now on several sites on the net, including amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. If you click below logos you will be redirected to the store. Each of the book has a preview, so you can look inside and see the contents (preview is limited to a few pages, but long enough to give you a good understanding of the contents of a given book). If you have any questions please let me know.

I would like to thank all of you who purchased my recent publications, "Etymology of Japanese kanji - in-depth analysis of selected characters" in particular. If you enjoyed the read please leave a feedback on amazon or Barnes & noble pages, I really appreciate it.

This exhibition is one of the most interesting and impressive things to see in Tokyo National Museum in Ueno. The exhibited sculptures are superb, some of them are huge, others are smaller. Museum rotates items on the display every 3 months, so you can admire various masterpieces. Some of the sculptures can be photographed, so do not forget to bring your camera with you. The room with the statues has amazing energy, it is very peaceful and soothing. I have added my calligraphy to the below photo, written in cursive script, it reads 平穏, i.e. tranquility (heion). 

My Youtube channel with free photoshop tutorials
Photography workshops in Tokyo - click for more details.
Hire a photographer in Tokyo
Buy original Chinese and Japanese calligraphy art
Check out my new portrait photography services in Tokyo website! 

We all love traveling and taking photos. The trouble is that most of the shots that people go back home with are mere snapshots. They do capture memories and fun moments, which is what photography is partially about. However, there is a huge difference between snapshots and photographs, and between photographs and art. Every single photo that I publish or or pass to my clients is not only a unique capture, but it is also fine tuned in post processing. I edit every single photo individually, without applying any presets or bulk editing methods, which is what most photographers do in order to save time. My approach to photography is artistic, and very emotional. Everyplace, angle or perspective is different, every person is an individual, every moment is unique, and so should be photos that document those. If you like snapshots you can ask anyone, if you enjoy art then you call me. 

My Youtube channel with free photoshop tutorials
Photography workshops in Tokyo - click for more details.
Hire a photographer in Tokyo
Buy original Chinese and Japanese calligraphy art
Check out my new portrait photography services in Tokyo website! 

This new series of photoshop tutorials for beginners will cover all aspects of photoshop from practical point of view. I already created a video on how to tweak various PC and photoshop settings to improve performance of photoshop and speed up photo editing workflow. Today I have released first video of the series that should help anyone who is new to photoshop. In this video I cover the entire interface, explain photoshop menus, show you how you can set up your own personalized working space and save it as a default, and explain how various panels and menus interact with one another. In upcoming video tutorials I will teach you all the tools and menu options in depth, based on practical examples so it is much easier to learn and understand. Photoshop tools and menus are not that difficult to learn, the whole trick is in knowing how to use all those tools together to achieve the result you want. I am sure you will have solid knowledge base at the end of the series. Any suggestions / ideas - please let me know.

My Youtube channel with free photoshop tutorials
Photography workshops in Tokyo - click for more details.
Hire a photographer in Tokyo
Buy original Chinese and Japanese calligraphy art
Check out my new portrait photography services in Tokyo website! 

For those of you dirty minded bastards who need some clarification, the size of the brush does not matter. It is all in the quality of brush strokes, the power of line, how skilled your mind and arm is. Chinese calligraphy line can be powerful and mighty even if written with a tiny brush. The brush tip, its movement on the paper, the balance, quality of ink and paper, handwriting style, etc. it all comes together in the final artwork. Those are the elements that decide on how powerful your calligraphy art will be. 威 in cursive script - it means might, power, also dignity. I wrote in in one stroke, with a small brush. I wanted to express well defined and flexible line, continuum of movement, but at the same time an airy and light feeling to the whole structure of the character. 

​My Youtube channel with free photoshop tutorials
Photography workshops in Tokyo - click for more details.
Hire a photographer in Tokyo
Buy original Chinese and Japanese calligraphy art
Check out my new portrait photography services in Tokyo website! 

If you come to Tokyo on a group tour you cant really see all the hidden gems in the city. It is not just about the places, but the way they are discovered or details that should not be missed. Tours go to most common places, always follow the same patterns and so you will end up with photos exactly the same as the person next to you. Tour operators are not photographers, and they have no idea where to bring the group so they can take some really cool photos. By hiring a pro photographer who lives permanently in Tokyo, and who specializes in portraiture and architecture photography, you will not only go back home with some truly amazing photos that no one else has, but you are not constrained to a rather boring and mechanically orchestrated tour.

My Youtube channel with free photoshop tutorials
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I am studying Lantingji Xu by Wang Xizhi, and so here is a short phrase from this amazing classic in semi-cursive. If follows the original to an extend, with a few alterations in my own calligraphic style. If you want to read more about Xizhi, just do a search on my blog, I have quite a few articles about him and his legendary calligraphy masterpieces. I scanned my work and brought it inside photoshop and played a bit with colors and background. Enjoy!

My Youtube channel with free photoshop tutorials
Photography workshops in Tokyo - click for more details.
Hire a photographer in Tokyo
Buy original Chinese and Japanese calligraphy art
Check out my new portrait photography services in Tokyo website!