Essay #66: Fun with Photoshop

After over a year of being without editing software, I now have a new computer and a fresh install of CS4! Woohoo! Being without software did teach me a lot of valuable lessons and made me realize how easy it is to be lazy and take bad pictures with the intent to "fix" them in post-processing. That said, Photoshop does have some fun toys.

For example, I can take this portrait

And turn it into a lovely black and white (which I like better)

Or do some "special effects" 

Although, with this kind of effect, less is more, in my opinion. It works better with small splashes of color than large swaths. 

 Like so. 

Do you have a favorite Photoshop effect?

Essay #64: Fun with backlight

Who says portrait lighting has to be traditional?

Yes, those are the bridesmaids waiting patiently in the chairs while I got the bride in position. I wanted to achieve a kind of light silhouette on the bride, so I had her stand on the edge of the stage and I turned around to face the lights. Result?

There's a little bit of glare on the floor in the background, but overall I think it's a cool picture.

Essay #54: Snowy portraits

Winter's dreary and often inclement weather can be far from ideal for outdoor portraits. However, fresh snow and a cute couple can make for a fun session.

Exposure is the key to snowy portraits. The white of the snow can cause the camera to overcompensate and capture everything as gray, so to make sure the subjects were properly lit, I had to overexpose two stops.

Essay #44: So cute it's sick

She looked at him.

He looked at her.

And everyone who saw that look wanted to throw up a little.

And as if they weren't absolutely adorable enough...let's add a puppy!

Essay #33: C'mon, baby, just a little smile

 

Enough posing now!
How can I wreck this picture?
I'll stick out my tongue!

Essay #10: Portraits

Portrait sessions are fun, especially when the models are game for anything. It's less about making people look good and more of making people look like themselves. It's about capturing that look or spark that showcases the subject's personality. I usually begin with a few "traditional" poses to get the model(s) comfortable with the camera and my direction, then improvise. Sometimes location lends itself to innovation, but I savor most the shots where the subject really comes out to play. Many of those pictures could be taken anywhere--the person  is the captivating factor.

Specs:(top) 19mm 1/30 f/11 ISO 200 (bottom) 17mm 1/40 f/11 ISO 200