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New features in Capture One Pro 9.2

Hot of the heels of Capture One 9.1 comes Capture One (you guessed it) 9.2. The main theme of this release is to offer more ways to view and select, increase flexibility, with shortcuts and add a couple of other new features too. There are lots of features to really help you work smarter and not harder in 9.2.

Let’s take a look at the feature list, one by one.

Select and Deselect Primary Variant

Select and Deselect Primary Variant is a new menu item, useful for returning to a single selected image in the Viewer or removing the Primary from a selection. For example, if I have a few images selected, like so…

… and I want to select the Primary only, simply choose the new command.

This returns the selection to the Primary only…

For a shortcut, you can also Shift-Click the Primary Variant to deselect the others. I like this as if you view a Set of images (more on those below!), it’s so quick to return to the ‘hero’ of that set with this new feature.

Selecting and Moving through ‘Sets’

‘Sets’ is a new feature that provides a unique and powerful way to move through sets of images for comparison and rating purposes.
Selecting two or more images then classes them as a ‘Set’. So by using the new Select Next or Previous Set command, the following or preceding images are then selected.

Note that we have already predefined a Short cut key, Option/Alt + Arrow, so you can move through sets quickly. Once in a set, you can use CMD/CTRL+ Arrow to change the Primary Variant.
Therefore, think of this workflow…

1. Define a set (This should be two or more images, depending on how many you want to review at a time)
2. Move through the set adding ratings or color tags with shortcuts. (NOTE – turn off Edit all selected Variants so that images in the set can be rated individually)

3. Move to the next set!

For collaborative work, this saves a huge amount of time, as the next Set is automatically selected. There was really no shortcut way of doing this before the 9.2 upgrade. You would manually have to select the next group of images. In a large collection, this will be a massive time saver and make the selection process easier for you and your clients on set.

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Selecting Collections

Simple but useful! If you are working in a Catalog or Session with multiple collections, a new menu item means you can move through them, even without the Library tool open. A default shortcut exists too.

This will surely save time when moving through albums or favorites, as you won’t have to return to the Library tool to start working on the next Collection. A whole culling process could be done without taking your hands off the keyboard!

Select by Same Variant Position

If you have a collection with a number of image clones, you can now choose to select by that same Variant position. It’s also been added to the Select By Same… dialog which was added in Capture One 9.1.

If you hadn’t spotted the Select By Same feature in version 9.1, it’s a fantastic menu for quickly making group selections based on Rating, Color Tags, Sequence ID’s and now Variant Position.

Select from Filename List

One of the most useful new features in Capture One 9.2 is the ability to select images based on a simple list. This will help enormously when receiving select lists from clients and no longer having to pick your way through large collections.

You will find it in a new Menu item that was added in Capture One 9.1 – Select By.

The Filename List… dialog gives you a few options on adding the list…

The simplest way is to copy / paste the list from your client in the window and choose how the filenames are separated from the Delimiter drop down menu.

In this case, each file name starts on a New line.

In case you have sent JPEGs to the client and you are browsing RAW files, a handy tip is to check the Ignore File Extension box, then only the filename is taken into account.

This feature is probably the biggest time saver in Capture One 9.2. Yes, there were a few work-arounds before, but nothing as simple and fluid as a copy/paste procedure to instantly pick out those selects and start processing out! This ties in very nicely with the next feature Create Album from Selection.

Any selection can be instantly turned into an Album. Simply select any images, or of course those generated from the Filename list, and choose Create Albums From, by right-clicking on any image.

A new album with all your selects is instantly created. Easy!

More Shortcuts

Everything we have seen so far is also available in the Keyboard Shortcuts editor and it’s worth spending some time to really optimize this. So if you feel, like me, that the new features in version 9.2 are going to save you a bunch of time, be sure to add them as a shortcut.
Additionally, the cursor shortcuts (e.g. c to enter the crop tool, are also now editable). Previously, they were locked to a factory default and if you were used to something else, it was frustrating to learn a new shortcut. Now you don’t have to, simply change it to your preferred.

Other Features

Aside from new shortcuts and easier workflows, we have also added a couple of other things.
The popular new feature Create Masked Layer from Color Selection can now be done on a batch of images.

Create color selections on a group of images, then choose Create Masked Layer from Selection on one of those images. The mask creation will then be done as a batch

I find this incredibly useful for a shoot (such as a still life) where the product is shot over a number of different angles but needs the same corrections. If those corrections involve a mask by color selection, preparing them as a batch saves that valuable production time.

Better TIF File Color Consistency

TIF file handling has been steadily improving in Capture One and now in Capture One 9.2 the colour handling has been improved so that the TIF file matches the RAW file if both are displayed in Capture One.

Round Trip to Helicon Focus

And finally, our customers focus stacking with the Phase One XF camera will be able to round trip to Helicon Focus, seeing the result returned to Capture One automatically.

So there we have it! A host of new features in Capture One 9.2 that are going to accelerate your workflow once again. If you want a quick visual run down of the features and where to find them, watch our “What’s new in Capture One Pro 9.2 video”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbfoXI9Ya-U

Don’t forget, if you have Capture One 9.x, this is a free upgrade. If you are on version 7 or 8, it’s available at a special discount. Get your upgrade here: Download free 30-day trial

Enjoy your new features!

BTS video: Stay on top of your game

High-end retoucher Pratik Naik shares his passion for retouching and explains why Capture One Pro has become “an industry standard”:

Photographs: Emotional pieces of art

To Pratik Naik, photographs can be defined as very emotional pieces of art. Personally, Capture One Pro is equal with the best result when delivering that vision to a customer, which is why he’s now been using it for about six years.

His explanation of why Capture One Pro has become the foundation of what professionals do every day is simply that the software is efficient but also very capable.

“Fashion photographers on set, they’re using it on a day-to-day basis because it’s industry standard, I mean.. If you’re using something else, you’re probably not on the top of your game”. – Pratik Naik

Nowadays, everyone has a camera, but one must not forget that photography is an art and with the right tools, you can express your own personal appearance.

Colors and connections

Pratik Naik’s favorite part about Capture One Pro is that the color tools give him the ability to make him feel like he’s actually there, when he’s looking at a picture. The fact that each camera has a specific profile that’s designed for Capture One makes the pictures unique, which is very hard not to appreciate.

“It makes sense right away, it feels like it connects the second we see that image pop up on the screen.. and how beautiful its colors are an how beautiful the texture is.. It feels like you’re right there in the moment” – Pratik Naik

From a photographer’s perspective

As the full BTS video states, Capture One Pro is not only an important tool for the retoucher, but also for the photographer.

For example, Capture One Pro 9 enables you to get essential file information and to obtain the right colors and skin tones in order to come very close to the final look, an important and straight-forward process to photographer Jonas Jensen.

Watch the full BTS video from the photoshoot with professional photographer Jonas Jensen:

See more of Pratik’s work

Check out Pratik’s blog

Ticking all the boxes at Broadway

Years ago when I was doing sweaty production shoots at tech rehearsals for London’s West End shows, I never thought I’d be asked to shoot a portfolio shot of Tony nominated Broadway stars in New York. So when BroadwayBlack asked to to be involved in their highlight of this year’s black nominees, I didn’t have to think long to say yes. It’s the culmination of so many of the different areas of photography I’ve become interested in over the years. To combine something that’s anthropologically important, culturally current and aesthetically pleasing. As a photographer, that ticks all the boxes.

Light Testing

One way that I gain an advantage in this competitive industry is to maintain a certain standard when it comes to lighting and posing. To achieve this, I love to do lots and lots of light testing.

I live in a large loft apartment in Brooklyn, with a fair amount of space, which means I can easily test from here. Having the opportunity to test before the shoot makes it a lot easier to plan ahead and be prepared.

For a big big job like this where there is celebrity talent, where timing is tight and scheduling is a challenge, I had to plan out my poses, plan out exactly what my lighting setup was gonna be and make sure it worked. There’s a big difference between a lighting diagram jotted down on a napkin and one actually executed in the studio and one that looks good!

So to prep I had my intern and a stylist friend come over and pose patiently while I messed with the light, messed with the angles, messed with the composites, messed with the poses, etc. I wasn’t happy until I got to a point where I felt inspired. A ‘jump-off point’ to finesse on the day.

Light testing gives me a chance to take the pressure off myself, shoot with friends, no clients on set, take my time, let the process take over, explore new things, mess around.

While these aren’t the final poses or exact lighting setup we used on the day, it helped me find my way in the process. I feel it is important here to show my process when I do these group portraits, how much planning goes into it. So while these images are very low-grade composites, not meant for final publication, they really help me and the team to see my vision. I sent this to my producer and the publication to give them an idea and they loved it. I also printed it out to show the talent on set.

To achieve this swiftly and efficiently, I tethered Phase One XF 100 MP straight into Capture One Pro 9, applied my basic colour curves, exported and then composited the images into Photoshop. Because we didn’t know how many nominees would be in the final shot, I did a test with 4 and one with 8 subjects, just to be prepared.

Production

Because of the challenges of scheduling and location (these guys all have shows to perform in, 6 days a week), we couldn’t drag the talent to studios miles away in Brooklyn, we had to stick close to midtown Manhattan. To avoid expensive studio locations, we found a rehearsal space, Pearl Studios, that was close enough to the theatre district. I went and scoped it out, my producer solved the problem of getting 14’ backdrops up to the 12th floor (elevators are too small) and we schlepped a van load of equipment up a passenger elevator.

The backdrop & corresponding floor, sourced from Oliphant, transformed a plain rehearsal space into something a little more visually appealing and befitting the glamorous talent. The space just happened to have a grand piano for us to use, so naturally in it goes. For lighting I used two battery powered Elinchrom ELB 400 packs and my trusty Elinchrom modifiers. We kept it fairly simple, as usual.

Everything was set… Now I just needed to actually shoot!

The shoot

I set the Phase One XF 100 MP on a tripod, marked it down, and started putting together the shot, one subject at a time.

My focus on every shoot is to get all the technicalities out of the way, to focus on making the talent feel comfortable. I tend to start that while they are in hair and make-up. My general rule of thumb is to make some jokes, get them to react in a genuine way, where I feel that they are on the same page as me, to gain trust before the subject even steps foot on set.

First up was LeChanze, who is actually a previous Tony Awardee and agreed to be part of the shoot, to pass the torch to the next generation. She brought her Tony award but I decided not to include it in the shot, I wanted to create a timeless image. Instead I highlighted her by giving her separate backdrop to pose in front of. This elevates her importance in the shot without any pretension.

Then it was Pascal Armand (Eclipsed), Saycon Sengbloh (Eclipsed), Brandon Dixon (Shuffle Along) and Adrienne Warren (Shuffle Along). For each of them, I tried to set the mood by generally being silly, energetic and doing unhealthy amounts of mirroring (demonstrating poses). Below is me doing my best ‘Beyonce in the wind impression’.

We tethered the entire shoot into my laptop, using Capture One Pro 9, replete with the extra-secure jerk-stopping piece of tape on the USB cable.

There’s no feeling quite like showing the subjects the photos as they are coming in. When you know they are good, they see that they are good, they get into the mood and it makes my job easy.

Obviously the end result is very different from the light test, but that’s just how things end up working out. No shoot I’ve ever done worked out exactly to plan, and that’s part of the beauty of photography. I like the result more more, with each person existing in their own space within the image.

To achieve individuality, I interacted with each subject enough to get an idea of the kind of pose that would work for them; for example, that’s how LaChanze’s effortless beauty and Adrienne’s ‘athletic cool’ really shines through. The goal is always to show personality. I want them to feel comfortable, they aren’t models, I want their individual characters to show.

Compositing

For a composite shot like this, the 100 megapixel capability of the Phase One XF 100 MP really shines, it allows me to get a depth of detail that gives us complete control. Compositing people into images is always more complex than it initially appears, we start to get into parallax issues, details not quite matching up, etc. But having pixel depth gives me options.

On tight schedules, options are everything. A complicated composite like this is made much easier because we’re using the best equipment available.

Photographer: Felix Kunze
Production: Dual.Phocus
Make-up: Bob Scott
Hair & Styling: Chloe Chada

Into the shark’s eye

Ever since I first swam with sharks, I wanted to share that experience through my photography. And since I couldn’t bring the sharks into the studio, I brought the studio to the sharks. Watch a BTS video from my trip to South Africa below:

A couple of things made this possible: A solid underwater housing for my camera and the right lights. The housing was developed by a Japanese company. And I invented an underwater strobe system for which I now have four patents. It’s the most powerful underwater lighting setup in the world. I just went out and made it. All my assistants have gotten certified as divers, the same team, and they’ve followed me into the deep. We were all very glad that the sharks couldn’t care less about the lighting.

Today I’m shooting with the Phase One XF IQ3 80 MP system. I’ve now been shooting with Phase One camera systems for about eight or nine years, and over that time there have been a lot of changes – the camera body, the grip, the number of megapixels, the file sizes and speeds of autofocus. It’s great every time they release a new system. I love it. The gear keeps getting better, sharper and faster.

A great example of why using medium format is key: With sharks, everyone’s used to seeing that black eye, it personifies the monster, something that looks so soulless from far away. But recently when I zoomed into the images I’d taken, I was amazed. I could literally see the shark’s iris, see the eye in all its specificity – the same view that I see when I dive with them. It creates this connection, because you can see how almost human they are as they look at you. But no camera ever revealed that until I shot with the 80MP system. Maybe it was the light that was hitting it in a certain way, but it was like, ‘wow, there you go!’ A huge “wow moment.” The technology just delivered the experience in its true form. Something DSLR camera systems simply can’t do.

To get a great image, you need all the elements – lighting, detail, direction, color, composition, shadows … it’s how you use each of them that separates you from the next guy …

One of the big differences between my peers and me is that I do all my own post-production, and I don’t hand stuff off to retouchers – I never have, from the film days, right through when I jumped with both feet into digital around 2002. I love looking deeply into the image. Having that knowledge of post is a huge advantage because I know where I can take it.

I love Capture One Pro 9. Every tech I know uses it because of its workflow and speed. Plus, obviously if you’re working with Phase One gear, it’s the program designed to work with that camera system. I honestly don’t like shooting tethered, it’s like being a dog on a leash, but it is great to be able to look at the images on the screen; you can zoom in and make changes on the fly.

Converting the raw file is the foundation of the look – it’s how I put my fingerprint on the image. Later, I might spend two minutes in Photoshop. It comes down to the kind of detail you can get with Capture One Pro 9, detail in the blacks that you won’t get with Bridge, for example.

Commercial work is great, and I enjoy it, but there’s nothing that compares to working on your own projects. A lot of commercial photographers can forget that and get old and stale just chasing a check. It’s important to do want you love, essential to at least sometimes follow your passion. I wasn’t hired or paid to do the shark project. It was my own project that I was passionate about. It was very fulfilling.

For me, I’d say 90 percent of the time I’m shooting with Phase One; eight percent with my DLSR and two percent with my iPhone. For all my commercial jobs, I’m using Phase One gear. My clients are expecting the biggest file size they can get so they can crop in, or use the images for huge billboards with no loss of quality. When they see the camera, they’re often, like “woah, what is that?” So I spend some time explaining.

If I were to offer any advice to other photographers, I’d say that the most important thing is to shoot. Some people say, “Well, I’m a music photographer or a car photographer, so that’s what I shoot.” But I say, ‘If you’re a photographer, you’re a photographer – you shoot everything!’

Shoot constantly and hone your craft. Shoot things outside your usual subject matter and look back to how that might help you with your usual focus – you might discover ways to translate shooting something new with something you’ve always done. The only way to become a master is to have a camera in your hands on a daily basis.

Bottom line, I’d say, ‘Listen to your own gut.’

Michael Muller’s Sharks. Face-to-Face with the Ocean’s Endangered Predator, has just been published by Taschen. It’s a 334 page hardcover book with two amazing foldouts, filled with hundreds of images that show another side of an awesome creature — one that many have vilified and few have taken time to understand. Readers report being blown away by the details in these images, and we wanted to hear from Michael about this project, about his photography in general and what his advice to photographers seeking to master the craft.

Check out Michael’s website and Instagram:

http://www.mullerphoto.com/

https://www.instagram.com/michaelmuller7/

Phase One Partner of choice Samy’s Camera